Wal-Mart Buys Former Top Foods Everett Location as 10 Million Dollar Placeholder

Wal-Mart bought this site for $10,000,000.00 as a placeholder

Last Monday I posted that there was a development application with the city of Everett for the empty Top Foods store on Everett Mall Way. I’ve done some more digging and found that back on April 26th Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust purchased the location at 1605 SE Everett Mall Way for 10 million dollars. I then found on May 11th that PACLAND, a Seattle developer applied for a permit to expand the existing building. Following that led me to a more detailed application filed in August for the expansion of the building, site improvements and a storage area. On this application Wal-Mart Real Estate is listed as the owner of the property. This afternoon I was able to talk with Jennifer Spall, a senior manager for public affairs and government relations with Wal-Mart. She tells me that they purchased the Top Foods Everett property and another property in Oregon back in April as placeholders.”We have no plans, no timeline, nothing for a while,” Spall said. When I asked why then they would apply for permits to expand the existing 70,000 square foot store by another 20,000 square feet she said that’s just a formality and said there are no plans at this time for another Wal-Mart or a Sam’s Club or other development. It’s just a placeholder. By the way, according to the City of Everett, once a permit is issued the applicant has two years to start work and can apply for two one-year extensions so it may be 2014 or 2015 before any work is done at that site. 

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