A Wal-Mart SuperCenter opens adjacent to Chesapeake Square Mall on Taylor Road in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Wal-Mart Secures Best Sites in Southeastern Virginia

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA -- Divaris Real Estate recently completed a number of transactions with Wal-Mart for the development of new supercenters in eastern Virginia.   John Knibb, senior vice president of Divaris Real Estate and partner in charge of its Chesapeake, Virginia, office, completed the sales.  He has represented Wal-Mart in over 20 developments in various parts of Virginia, for over 12 years.

One transaction was the Chesapeake-West Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club development, which opened along Taylor Road on 55 acres in Chesapeake, adjacent to Simon’s Chesapeake Square Mall.  It includes a 220,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter, a 130,000-square-foot Sam’s Club, and three outparcels.

“The original store was what Wal-Mart refers to as a Division 1, or General Merchandise Store.  Wal-Mart didn’t have room to expand because it was beside an existing shopping center on one side, a public street and a BJ’s Wholesale on the other side,” says Knibb.  “So in order to convert that store to a supercenter, we needed to relocate it, which is what we’ve done.”

Divaris also sold 23.43 acres of commercial land to Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in York County, Virginia. The new 205,000-square-foot supercenter is the second of its kind to locate in York County. The site, at the corner of Route 17 and 171, near Kiln Creek is close to an extensive amount of commercial retail development, which includes multiple grocery stores and a Super Kmart. 

Another site, adjacent to a new Lowes on Rochambeau Road in Williamsburg, was selected for its excellent access and visibility.  The site has a full interchange at Mooretown Road and Route 199 near the Interstate 64 cloverleaf and is fully visible from the Route 199 bypass.

In fact, all of the new Wal-Mart sites were selected for excellent visibility and road access, high traffic counts and arterial connections to heavily populated neighborhoods. 

“Wal-Mart chose these locations because they are in trade areas not presently being served by other stores and because they are prime commercial locations,” notes Knibb. 

Where needed, Wal-Mart is also repositioning in various Virginia markets by expanding and relocating a number of its existing stores.  It is currently in the process of finalizing the feasibility study to convert a general merchandise Wal-Mart at JANAF Shopping Center in Norfolk into a supercenter.  Construction is due to commence prior to the end of this year.  JANAF is the largest strip retail center --over a mile long -- between the Washington D.C. metro area and Atlanta.  With the expansion, Wal-Mart will be the end-cap anchor at JANAF Shopping Center. 

But Wal-Mart is not the only big box user entering the Virginia market. The world’s largest retailer (with nearly 3,500 stores in the U.S.) is competing for sites with Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s. 

“We’re constantly competing for the best sites with other big box retailers who are generally looking for similar locational criteria,” says Knibb. “In the very recent past, we competed for sites with Kmart, but due to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, it has become less of a competitor.  So far, Wal-Mart has managed to get the best sites in the market.”