The Woodlands Walmart

[KatieDidIt]

I think the replacement trees are usually less hardy than the native species. They also have growth spurts when they are young, but slow in maturity. It takes a long time for those trees to get to 100ft. Pines are usually very long-lived trees. The oldest organisms in the world are from a pine species which live out in California.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I drove by yesterday and even more of the"barriers" are gone. The promised 60ft buffer of NATIVE brush and trees has dwindled to a thinned out 5 feet or none in many spots.

And not to any surprise, I have made SEVERAL phone calls to the Operating Company, only to be transferred to answering machine. And guess what? No response.

What a joke.

[KatieDidIt]

Does anyone know any really aggressive, tree-hugging enviromental groups I could contact to have them attack WOC?

[RedScare]

Jim Blackburn is probably Houston's foremost environmental attorney, taking on groups as big as oil refiners and the Port of Houston. But, I don't know that what the WOC is doing is "illegal", just possibly immoral. A better bet would be to talk to your neighborhood groups about the "clear cutting". Nothing works better than the affected neighbors rising up and pushing back. Threats of boycotts and bad publicity often cause companies to rethink their methods.

[dfinke]

Ever since I heard that The Woodlands was getting another Wal-Mart I expected clear cutting and overall ugliness. The Wal-Mart in College Park has got to be the worst mistake The Woodlands has ever made. NO trees, NO maintaince. I especially enjoy the poeple setting up tents and selling dogs in the parking lot..NOT! Very un-Woodlandslike. Atleast that one is not near residential ares though, like the new one. What do we need another Wal-Mart for? I would have been much happier with a Super Target instead. It's been my experience that they atleast bother to maintain their locations. Nicer store and products too.

[H-Town Man]

Add to your list:

Walmart at 249 & 2920

Walmart at 2920 & Kuykendahl

Walmart at 242 and College Park

Walmart at I-45 & Sawdust

Walmart at I-45 & Louetta

Walmart at I-45 & League Line

At 1960 & Cutten, they recently closed down the old decrepit Walmart, sold it and the new owners turned it into the Harwin Drive of the North (their name for it, not mine) and then Walmart opened a new larger behomoth directly across the street. The neighbors in the Champions area directly attribute the rise in crime in the areas adjacent to these stores to Walmart itself, the constables who attend the neighborhood HOA meetings call it the "Walmart effect", that crime seems to follow the Walmarts. Interesting...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's at 1960 near Walters Rd. 1960 @ Cutten is a different Wal-Mart.

They should just call these places China Mart. They should change all the colors to red, and put big giant Chinese letters across the front. That would be honest. All the red white and blue patriotism is b.s. - it's nothing but cheap goods from a communist country. And Americans are stupid enough to fall for it. Imagine if there was a chain of stores springing up across the U.S. in the 1930's selling nothing but goods from Germany. That's what this is. When China starts causing us trouble in a few years, we'll have noone to blame but ourselves.

[kjb434]

Where do you think Target gets most of there stuff?

China is just as a big contributor to their good as Wal-Mart. K-Mart isn't any different also.

[KatieDidIt]

Ever since I heard that The Woodlands was getting another Wal-Mart I expected clear cutting and overall ugliness. The Wal-Mart in College Park has got to be the worst mistake The Woodlands has ever made. NO trees, NO maintaince. I especially enjoy the poeple setting up tents and selling dogs in the parking lot..NOT! Very un-Woodlandslike. Atleast that one is not near residential ares though, like the new one. What do we need another Wal-Mart for? I would have been much happier with a Super Target instead. It's been my experience that they atleast bother to maintain their locations. Nicer store and products too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Super Target would have been a better choice

We got the sneaking feeling that the Walmart Co. swallowed the expense of popping Woodlands Prkwy through. Its interesting how its a Prkway then down to one land then a Prkwy again right where the Walmart will be. They also stripped the median in the Walmart area.

[H-Town Man]

Where do you think Target gets most of there stuff?

China is just as a big contributor to their good as Wal-Mart.  K-Mart isn't any different also.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well I didn't say anything in my post in support of Target. Good point though.

[MidtownCoog]

Yep, too many "hipsters" fall for Target's advertising campaign.

I still shop at both.

[kjb434]

Wal-Mart and many large retail outfits will pay for widening the main road in front of there store.

My home town got the central boulevard exted for two miles and a new traffic signal because of Wal-Mart. The roadway improvements help overall traffic a lot in the area.

["Oh" Face]

Oh my god this WalMart is soooo big. It's got it's "oh"wn Zip code. It also has it's "oh"wn MAYOR for peter's sake.

It has its own fire department, too.

[editor]

I find Target to be a little less evil than Wal-Mart. Their flagship store in Minneapolis is two-stories tall and in the heart of the city. They're building a Target two blocks from where I live now, but instead of plowing down the park, they're putting it inside the base of an 82-story building. I know of a few other places where Target has taken pains to build upward rather than outward, even when there was plenty of land and it wasn't necessary.

[kjb434]

Also, the markets that Target spends extra to place these upward stores are places where there isn't much competition except for much smaller local stores. Wal-Mart and K-mart aren't putting these urban stores in yet. Target is capitalizing on an under served market. We are seeing this with the new Targe at Taylor and I-10. No other retail that comes close to it is nearby. Just grocers and drug stores. The nearest competition is itself in Midtown.

[pineda]

As far as I know, there's only one Target in the Woodlands area, in the Pinecroft Shopping Center. It was built about 10 years ago. Any new ones coming out?

[bachanon]

it's been reported (the villager, i think) that the reason marshall's in pinecroft center expanded behind itself was because the vacated barnes and noble space immediately next to target was spoken for by a big name retailer who is yet unannounced. i'm thinking (hoping) that maybe target is going to expand. it's a great location.

[bachanon]

i went by the new walmart site this weekend and found the 60 foot buffer intact along woodlands parkway and the 50 foot buffer along 2978. i'm not sure where the "buffer" has been clear cut. yes, they cleared the entire pad.....with the exception of the forested buffer.

[KatieDidIt]

i went by the new walmart site this weekend and found the 60 foot buffer intact along woodlands parkway and the 50 foot buffer along 2978.  i'm not sure where the "buffer" has been clear cut.  yes, they cleared the entire pad.....with the exception of the forested buffer. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bach, Much of the "NATURAL FOREST" barrier is not at 60ft. Maybe 15-20ft at best.

Men always see things begger than they really are.

[kjb434]

Yeah,

And many of those trees aren't that old or can be grown fairly quickly.

[KatieDidIt]

I drove by today and they are starting to put up the brick. ...How can they say this is a special Woodlands Designed Walmart? It looks just like all the other new SuperWalmarts. Only difference is they left a sporatic, scrawny border of trees. It is in no way hidden anywhere along the parkway at any point.

Some Huge Church complex is being built across from it now. What they really need is a police substation right there. Arrest the criminal element Walmart attracks, not try to save them.

[Subdude]

Walmart attracts a criminal element? Walmart? And I thought it was mainly people looking for everyday low prices.

[bachanon]

walmart is simply ugly. this is why people of good taste have such a problem with it. it's not the low prices that are offensive, it's the big box concept with no regard for the location. i despise the fact that walmart abandons large sites with huge parking lots to build a bigger walmart across the freeway. the abandoned sites will sit empty for years.

[KatieDidIt]

Walmart attracts a criminal element? Walmart? And I thought it was mainly people looking for everyday low prices.

Sub, you can even google the "Walmart Effect." Or just ask those folks off FM 1960 what happened to Champions. I dunno, I have't even been to a Walmart that wasn't in a junkie stretch of town, so this will be interesting. Either it stays nice or the junk (Like all the storage units that are building around it already) move in.

[PureAuteur]

It is possible for residents to stop Wal-Mart from moving in. In fact, Wal-Mart tried to put up a supercenter at Beltway 8 and West Rd right in front of my peaceful subdivision. A coalition of neighborhoods along West Rd came together and stopped them. Basically, every neighborhood along the entire road threatened to boycott it, and they had a huge petition. I'm not sure what else they did, but it worked.

If the Woodlands people wanted to keep Wal-Mart out, they could. There is plenty of money there, and money talks. I'm not sure why Wal-Mart wants to be there anyways. The Woodlands is very elitist about their consumer tastes. Nobody in Woodlands proper will shop there; it will be so empty inside that place. Sure, people from surrounding areas that are slightly lower class could go there, but there are already plenty of Wal-Marts everywhere; they wouldn't need to go to the Woodlands. My prediction: it will be convenient for all the apartment complexes in the Woodlands but only stay open two years at best.

[RedScare]

I'm not sure why Wal-Mart wants to be there anyways. The Woodlands is very elitist about their consumer tastes. Nobody in Woodlands proper will shop there; it will be so empty inside that place.

You've never been to the WalMart on Sawdust Road, have you?

[PureAuteur]

it will be convenient for all the apartment complexes in the Woodlands but only stay open two years at best.

Aren't all the apartment complexes off of Sawdust Road? I didn't know there was already a Wal-Mart in the Woodlands. The idea of whether they would need two Wal-Marts is beyond me. I guess I'm not surprised, given how aggressive they are at forcing themselves into communities.

Couldn't the owner of the Woodlands refuse to allow Wal-Mart in if they felt like it? and I imagine there is already alot of local political pressure to refuse them.

[bachanon]

wal-marts go where there is demand. plain and simple.

[KatieDidIt]

[/quote

Woodlands residents are elitist in their tastes???? What WOodlands have you been too? Its all Dillards and Chili's tastes up here that I see.

[VicMan]

[/quote

Woodlands residents are elitist in their tastes???? What WOodlands have you been too? Its all Dillards and Chili's tastes up here that I see.

Yeah, even the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has Chili's. I was there for a concert. I love the buffalo wings with the blue cheese sauce.

[TRP]

There's a reason Wal Mart is the third largest corporation in the world. That's corporation of any kind. People in huge numbers shop there. Rich people and poor people. Don't forget, one of the reasons rich people are rich is because they know how to save a buck or two. I'm not defending where Wal Mart chooses to put their stores but you gotta admit they know where their shoppers are and how to get them into the store. You gotta sell a lot of product to be #3.

[nmainguy]

The Woodlands is very elitist about their consumer tastes. Nobody in Woodlands proper will shop there; it will be so empty inside that place. Sure, people from surrounding areas that are slightly lower class could go there...

Are you kidding??? Walmart and places like the Woodlands are a match made in heaven. Bad taste spans all class-lines.