Walmart Supercenter almost ready to open in Rexburg
A Walmart Supercenter has made its way to Rexburg. The new location has been in the works for nearly two years.
“It’s a 185,000 square-foot building,” store manager Mike Bullard said. He also says he’s happy that they will be able to accommodate shoppers along with the growing population.
“Probably the biggest changes are the fresh meat, fresh produce, bakery and deli departments that we added. We’ve also added a auto care center in our store along with a fuel center. Those are some of the things we added,” said Bullard.
The existing Walmart doesn’t offer shoppers a produce section, nor do they sell poultry.
BYU-Idaho student Morgan Dellasilvia said she’s looking forward to finally being able to buy the produce she needs.
“Well when I came to the old Walmart I wasn’t able to buy apples, essential things like fruit and vegetables,” says Dellasilvia.
While the new Supercenter is scheduled to open sometime in January, an official date has not been confirmed.
With the new store nearly ready to open some are asking what will happen to the old location? Will it join the line of vacant buildings in Rexburg?
Scott Johnson, director of economic development says, “We do have some interested parties, and I called Walmart Real Estate and their holdings company, they actually informed me that it had been sold already to a retail redevelopment company. They did not tell me who specially but they did tell me it had been sold.”
Currently, there are vacant buildings that are privately owned such as the old Staples building which the owner is looking to lease, not sell.
Another vacant spot is where the old CAL Ranch use to be. The new CAL Ranch is located right across the street and occupies half of the building that was originally K-Mart. Johnson said that owner is also looking to lease.
Johnson says that they are working to get those spots filled and it’s not that they don’t have people interested.
Bullard says all the employees from their current location will be transferred to the new location. Another 85 new employees have been hired to work at the Supercenter.
Information about Walmart Stores