Last week we reported on the sudden announcement of the impending arrival in our Emerald City downtown of a Walmart Super-center. The Standard-Examiner follows up on that story this morning with the report that the store's site plan has already cleared the planning commission, and is now headed for the City Council for approval.
This article, which we confess took us by surprise, seems to indicate that Wal-mart officials are bending their backs to design this store in compliance with Emerald City architectural requirements. Even Robert Arrington, a Wal-mart project planner makes comment about standard Wal-mart design, which he candidly (and derogatorily) refers to as the Wal-mart "blue whales" motif:
OGDEN — The Ogden Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the site plan for the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter at 1945 Wall Ave.We've already had a few comments about this project in the lower article thread; and we'll move those comments over to this new article, just for consistency's sake.
The commission heard public comment prior to the vote and queried planners about concerns with waste water, street access, the appearance of the store, landscaping and traffic flow.
The 176,000-square-foot building, which will be built on the northeast corner of 20th Street facing Wall Avenue, will be designed to incorporate architectural elements common in other downtown Ogden buildings, said project planner Robert Arrington, of CLC Associates Inc.
"We’re working with the city to get things done,” he said. “It’s been interesting, some of the things we’ve been asked for, but we’ve complied with everything.”
Design and planning requirements have been more stringent in Ogden than in other cities, Arrington said, adding that this was the sixth Wal-Mart he’d worked on in Utah.
“Ogden’s asking for a little more than what’s normal. It would be good to let them (residents) know, this is going to be one of the nicer ones (Wal-Marts),” he said.
The Supercenter will be constructed with Quik-Brik, brick-colored masonry slabs, with a color scheme revolving around reds and light, dark and yellowy browns. Other construction elements will include columns, upper-level windows and ornamental fencing.
City planners acknowledged the urban design conforms with goals outlined by Ogden for the central business district.
“Thank you for leaving the blue off,” joked one commission member, to a chorus of laughter.
“It’s not going to be like other sites, what we call the ‘blue whales,’ Arrington responded. “It’s going to be specific to Ogden.”
Today's Std-Ex story also includes a site map overview, showing a giant parking lot, which doesn't exactly conform to our preconceived notion of what a new retail business would look like in a "walkable" downtown area. But what do we know about modern urban planning anyway?
Patrons of Ogden's downtown strip-joint will be delighted, we're sure, that access to the new Wal-mart Supercenter will be located just to the south of the club, providing Northern X-posure patrons with the opportunity for a convenient "two for one" entertainment and shopping experience.
If you'd like to offer further comment on this latest chapter in Emerald City's Wal-mart saga, feel free to do it here.
