Wal-Mart building sparking "significant interest’

Several national retailing chains are interested in moving into the building when Wal-Mart opens one of its “supercenters” in the Village at Avon next fall, says Shane Bohart, director of development for Traer Creek LLC.

Traer Creek is developing the Village at Avon, as well as searching for a new tenant for the Wal-Mart building in Chapel Square

“It’s not our intent to let that property sit vacant,” Bohart says.

Bohart says he can’t release the names of the companies interested in opening a store in the centrally-located Wal-Mart building. But the situation should become clearer in the next three to four months, he says.

“Right now, we’re considering a variety of different retailers,” Bohart says. “We’ve achieved a significant amount of interest on the property. We’re looking at some different, large-scale, national uses that we think will be successful in filling that property next fall when Wal-Mart relocates.”

Wal-Mart has started building the 187,000-square-foot Supercenter it plans to open in the Village at Avon in the fall of 2003. The Village at Avon, which is being built in the large empty lot just east of Avon between Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 6, will also include The Home Depot and a freeway interchange.

The new Wal-Mart Supercenter will include a supermarket and be more than twice the size of the existing Avon store.

Avon town planners and the owners of Chapel Square are hammering out a plan to spruce up the Wal-Mart building. Under a previous agreement, the Wal-Mart building was supposed to be refurbished to look more like the rest of Chapel Square by Oct. 29, 2001.

Chapel Square, however, has changed ownership. The town had been hoping the new owners would repaint Chapel Square, including the Wal-Mart building, before winter.

But because Wal-Mart is moving, the town may wait to impose the redecoration requirements until a new tenant is found for the store. Wal-Mart Vice President Robert Bedard wrote in a letter to the town that his company supported having the owner of Chapel Square spruce up the department store’s current home.

“As primary anchor tenant of Chapel Square shopping center,” Bedard wrote, “Wal-Mart is keenly interested in ensuring the entire center remains attractive and properly maintained.”

But the town apparently wants the refurbishing to take place before Wal-Mart’s replacement opens for business.

“(It) should grant the town that a revised architectural facade will occur on the building or building site that conforms to both town design guidelines and the existing Chapel Square project, while at the same time allowing the owning and potential tenants the flexibility to redesign the building to accommodate a variety of uses,” Avon planner Tambi Kateib wrote in a recent staff report.

Matt Zalaznick covers public safety, Eagle County Courts and Avon/ Beaver Creek. He can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 606, or via e-mail at mzalaznick@vaildaily.com.