Walmart announced today that it has signed a second lease on another dormant retail space in Bellevue – the former Mervyn’s at Factoria Mall, which had been vacant for five years. Last week the retailer announced that it leased space in the Kelsey Creek shopping center. The two new stores will create approximately 220 jobs.
“We think our stores can be part of the solution for residents who need a job or want more affordable options close to home,” said Matti Havener, Walmart Senior Director and Regional General Manager for Washington and Oregon. “At the same time, we have the opportunity to revive two, dormant retail properties and deliver an added economic boost for the area.”
Walmart will renovate the former Kmart at the Kelsey Creek Center and the former Mervyn’s space at the Factoria Mall. Details of the projects include:
- The Kelsey Creek location will be a 64,000-square-foot Walmart Neighborhood Market, which is a smaller format than Walmart’s full-service stores, will focus on providing groceries and general merchandise. It will feature a wide variety of products, including: fresh produce, meats and dairy products, frozen foods, dry goods and staples, deli foods, bakery items, canned and packaged goods, condiments and spices, pet supplies, household supplies and one-hour photo center. It will employ approximately 95 associates and join an LA Fitness to replace the empty Kmart building at 148th Ave. and Main St.
- Walmart also will renovate the former Mervyn’s space at Factoria Mall. The 76,000-square-foot Walmart will offer a full range of general merchandise. When completed, the store will employ approximately 125 associates.
Both stores will feature energy-efficient technology and environmentally-sound features designed to reduce energy and water consumption and minimize waste, including skylights and LED lighting.
Walmart currently employs more than 19,000 associates at 57 Washington locations. The retailer’s average wage for regular, full-time hourly associates in Washington is $12.79 per hour.
Publisher’s Note: This is GREAT news for Bellevue in so many ways. Thank you Walmart!
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at over 9,600 retail units under 69 different banners in 28 countries. With fiscal year 2011 sales of $419 billion, Walmart employs 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://walmartstores.com and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
Are you kidding me? How is Walmart good for Bellevue? Have you ever stepped foot into a Walmart? Obviously not. Have you ever driven down Factoria Blvd. and 148th? The traffic volumes are bad enough without the the extra crazy drivers – the City traffic planners better think about that! I would be willing to pay extra taxes to keep Walmart OUT of Bellevue and you are not considering all the people that will now move out of that area because of this. I know I’m considering moving out and I live in Eastgate. How can Bellevue be mad about Light Rail, yet bring in 2 Walmarts. Get your priorities straight!
Wow Aya – didn’t mean to offend you, but this news story was not about my priorities. Right now there are a lot of people out of work and these stores will create jobs – and fill spaces that has been empty for many years – without a need for more parking lots.
You are correct about traffic being a problem in the Factoria area, but that is not new – and certainly is not caused by a store that’s not even there yet. I know the City is working on it – and I believe still planning on a redevelopment of the mall at some point to include retail, commercial and residential.
I’m not sure any reasonable person would move from somewhere because a store moved in, but I’m sure they would be missed.
Thank you for your comments!