Developers have filed plans with the city for a second Wal-Mart Supercenter, near Fifth Street and Catron Boulevard. It would be the anchor for long-anticipated, heavy commercial development at the edge of what is still ranchland in south Rapid City.
Wal-Mart shoppers, who say the store on North La Crosse Street is too crowded, have been clamoring for a second store on the city’s growing south side, but two previous attempts to build a Wal-Mart along Highway 16 failed.
Any development must pass the scrutiny of the city planning department, planning commission and city council; though this project seems more likely to succeed.
“However, in this case, much of the infrastructure is already in place and ready to go,” said Marcia Elkins, city growth management director. “That should help expedite the review and more importantly the construction phase of any project on this site.”
She said the site is already zoned for commercial development, and many traffic issues have already been addressed in the planning that went into extending Fifth Street south and an upcoming project to widen Catron Boulevard.
“City staff anticipates that most of those impacts have already been addressed with the original planning completed for this site,” she said.
The 49-acre site, owned by Stoneridge LLC and represented by Pat Hall of Premier Properties, both of Rapid City, sits west of Fifth Street and north of Stumer Road, which is just north of Catron Boulevard. There is residential development to the west and office buildings and health care facilities north along Fifth Street.
“It’s always been anticipated that there would be one or two large-box retail developments at that intersection,” Elkins said. The plans go back to the mid-1990s when the city prepared to extend Fifth Street south, she said.
“This is a site that’s always been intended to be commercial,” she said.
The plans were filed Friday by THF Stoneridge Development, LLC of St. Louis, along with the Stoneridge, LLC group of landowners and local developer Dream Design International.
The site plan shows a 154,750-square-foot Wal-Mart on the west side of the parcel, close to single-family homes on Savoy Circle. It is surrounded by 14 lots, a 30,900-square foot “mini-anchor” and a 16,000-square-foot row of strip mall shops.
People will have their first opportunity to comment on the project at 7 a.m., March 4, when the city Planning Commission considers the initial plans for the project. The initial plan would then be considered by the city council at 7 p.m., March 15.
Later in the process, the applicants will have to submit more detailed plans and a final development plan application.
In 2005, a second Wal-Mart was proposed for Sammis Trail and Highway 16. After much opposition, voters approved the plan in 2006, but it was withdrawn when developers failed to get an easement for a rear access road.
The second proposal, in 2008, was part of the 79-acre Dakota Canyon Market Place commercial area proposed north of Catron on the east side of Highway 16. There were issues with rezoning and grading the property and Wal-Mart brought in the THF Realty firm to assist developer Doug Hamilton with the project. But a lack of financing killed the project when Hamilton hit a string of legal and financial troubles.
Wal-Mart first opened in Rapid City in 1991, in the current Sam’s Club building. In 1995, Sam’s Club took that building while Wal-Mart opened a new store north of Anamosa Street. In 2001 the retailer remodeled that newer store into a Supercenter, adding a grocery store.
Contact Barbara Soderlin at 394-8417 or barbara.soderlin@rapidcityjournal.com.
