Biz group: Walmart confirmed as anchor tenant for proposed Glenwood Park development
SEABA had already backed NPU’s stance against Fuqua’s plan
- Fuqua Development
- Fuqua Development’s latest rendering for the retail complex
Late last year, Fuqua Development said it was “incorrect” to say whether its proposed retail center near Glenwood Park along the Atlanta Beltline included a Walmart. But the chair of a Southeast Atlanta business association says that will be the possible development’s anchor tenant.
Walmart sat down in mid-April with the South East Atlanta Business Association’s board to discuss the proposed 800 Glenwood Avenue development, SEABA Board Chair Ashley McCartney said in a statement released late last week. She says that reps from the big-box retailer approached her to have what she calls a “frank and honest exchange” about the contentious development, for which plans have twice been rejected by city planners and neighborhood residents.
SEABA had already backed Neighborhood Planning Unit W’s stance against the planned Fuqua Development on the grounds that the suburban-style plan doesn’t fit the area’s long-term vision. After the meeting, SEABA wrote in a press release:
The contact from Walmart representatives with SEABA was some of the first public acknowledgment of the identity of the anchor tenant for the currently proposed 144,000 square foot retail store planned by Fuqua. Fuqua had always declined to identify his client and SEABA’s opposition to the project has never been directed solely at any particular corporation or entity. “This is not an anti-Walmart campaign,” says McCartney, “our opposition is solely about the project as it is currently presented.”
It’s interesting to hear that SEABA isn’t so much opposed to Walmart, but is more concerned that the right kind of development - one that conforms to Atlanta Beltline Overlay standards - is built on the former concrete facility. Could Walmart convince Fuqua to change its plan under pressure from the community? That remains to be seen.
CL reached out to Fuqua Development for comment. If we hear back, we’ll post an update.