• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Lowe's Sidesteps Wal-Mart Uproar: Home Improvement Store Will Rise Next to Discounter

Posted on: Friday, 14 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Jefferson George, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

An appealing design and easy access helped Lowe's win approval for a new home-improvement store in Belmont, city leaders said.

The unanimous vote Tuesday means Lowe's could start building on land leased from Belmont Abbey this summer and open the store in spring 2007, city planners said.

Lowe's officials wouldn't comment on a timetable for construction or opening.

The council's decision was a stark contrast to the last big-box store considered on the Abbey property: a Wal-Mart Supercenter that was narrowly approved in 2004 after several months of debate. That store is scheduled to open in mid-June, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said.

A public hearing Tuesday featured only members of the Lowe's team -- no Belmont residents in opposition.

"We didn't have anybody grandstanding," council member Charlie Martin said a day later, adding he believes opposition to Wal-Mart a few years ago was because of the company's name.

Council members' questions focused on parking, traffic and the store's appearance.

While the Lowe's plan doesn't have the city-required number of parking spaces, Wal-Mart has agreed to let Lowe's use some of its spaces, said Nicky Wagoner, site development manager for Lowe's.

As for traffic, the store's location in Montcross -- a retail, residential and commercial project by the Abbey and local mills -- means customers will have multiple access points, said Richard Adams, a Lowe's traffic engineer.

With entrances from North Main Street, Park Street and Wilkinson Boulevard, store traffic will be dispersed in several directions, Adams said.

For vehicles passing on I-85, a landscape buffer and the store's architecture would prevent unsightly views, Lowe's team members said.

Besides brick exterior walls on all sides, including the rear, the Lowe's store will have ledges and other screening to block views of skylights, satellite dishes and other apparatus atop the building, said Neil Tate, a Lowe's architect.

"From any vantage point," Tate said, "you'll not be able to see on our roof."

The roof features and brick walls were required because the Abbey will continue to own the land. As a result, Tate said, the design for Belmont's Lowe's store is unique.

"When we first got the criteria," he said, "a lot of people said, 'You're designing a church.' "

The design impressed one council member so much she shared her thoughts midway through the Lowe's presentation.

"It's a beautiful building," Becky Burch said.

Besides the physical plans, Martin looked forward to the economic benefits of Lowe's being in Belmont.

"Tax revenues and job opportunities are what we need," he said. "Plus, it'll save me a bunch of trips to Gastonia."

Lowe's in Belmont

The Belmont City Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve a new Lowe's home improvement store.

Location: between Interstate 85 and Wilkinson Boulevard, and between North Main and Park streets; next to a Wal-Mart Supercenter opening this year.

Opening: Spring 2007.

Size: About 141,000 square feet.

Cost: Lowe's invests about $18.5 million in a typical store.

Employees: About 100 full- and part-time.

SOURCE: Lowe's officials, Belmont city planners.

Jefferson George: (704) 868-7742

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NYSE:LOW, NYSE:WMT,

Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

More News in this Category