With scores of community residents, business leaders and elected officials in attendance, the sod was turned on the proposed construction of a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in the Washington Shores Community on Friday.
Located on the site of Hope Center West, construction of the 40,000 square foot Neighborhood Market is expected to begin soon and once complete provide a full service grocery store, along with a pharmacy, deli, bakery and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Bishop Allen Wiggins, Senior Pastor, The Hope Church, who played a central role in getting the mega-chain store into the community said, the “full-service grocery store will eliminate the current food desert, help boost the economic climate and bring local permanent jobs to the neighborhood.”
Mayor Buddy Dyer opined that today is a great day for the Washington Shores neighborhood and the City of Orlando. He recalled that, the planned Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market came out of a Vision Plan and this is the first private sector development success to be realized, to date.
“This is a big deal and I want Wal-Mart to know that this is a big deal for them to open this west side Neighborhood Market,” he said. Dyer also said that it adds to the tax base of the City of Orlando.
Wal-Mart, Regional General Manager for Central Florida, Cheryl Lester said, about 100 full and part-time jobs would be created and that priority would be given to hiring workers from the neighborhood. She expressed appreciation for the support Wal-Mart had received from the Washington Shores neighborhood, while pointing out that the retail giant “sometimes is not always welcome when we choose a site.”
“We are thrilled to be a part of Washington Shores,” she said. “I think that this is going to be a fruitful and productive partnership.”
Central Florida Urban League President Allie Braswell said, he saw Wal-Mart’s coming into the area as “a dream – one of hope and opportunity.” “This is just the first step,” he said.
Braswell added that, the League will help with training potential Wal-Mart employees, ensuring that they have the requisite skill-set to “stay in these jobs for a long time to come.”
