Politics & Government

Is Walmart Coming to Monroe?

The Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on a plan for a large retail store. Some think it's a Walmart, though officials have declined to comment.

Ever since plans were announced for a 160,942-square-foot retail store at 2 Victoria Drive, a number of residents have speculated that the occupant would be the national retail giant Walmart. But First Selectman Steve Vavrek and John Kimball, the developer who owns the property, have declined to comment on just who the tenant would be.

The name of the tenant may be made public at the Planning & Zoning Commission hearing on Kimball Land Holdings LLC's special permit application this Thursday. The public hearing will be held in the Council Chambers of Monroe Town Hall at 7 p.m.

The application filed at the Planning & Zoning Department calls for a one-story, 160,994-square-foot building to be constructed on the eastern portion of a 39.85-acre parcel — to the north of Victorinox-Swiss Army's headquarters.

The building, which was designed by architect Daniel M. Condatore of Massa Montalto Architects in New Jersey, would be located in an I-3 District (formerly a DI3).

The store would include outdoor retail display areas with improvements to access from Main Street (Route 25), 666 parking spaces, retaining walls, drainage and utilities, landscaping, lighting, signs and an onsite water treatment plant with disposal fields. The property uses public water.

The estimated completion of the project is 2015.

Shopping Carts & Employees

The proposed retail facility would "operate a regular shopping cart management program which includes the use of cart corrals located within the parking field for customer convenience and periodic sweeps of the parking lot." Employees collect the carts and roll them into the front vestibule of the store throughout the day and the vestibule is where the carts are stored overnight.

The store anticipates hiring 300 employees, with the majority working full-time. The number working there at any one time would depend on need and customer demand, according to the plans.

Traffic Impact

A traffic study by Solli Engineering estimates the store would generate 210 (190 entering and 20 exiting) new trips on Route 25 during the p.m. peak hour and 659 (336 entering and 323 exiting) new trips during the Saturday midday peak hour.

Improvements along Route 25 at the intersections with Spring Hill and Tashua roads, as well as traffic signal timing improvements, will result in no adverse impact on existing traffic conditions, according to Solli Engineering.


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