By Catherine Smith

Deseret Morning News

4 March 2008

 

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Work has begun on a 184,000-square-foot super Wal-Mart here.

 

Company officials say the building, being built on the northwest corner of Redwood Road and state Route 73, just west of the Chevron Top Stop, could be done by the end of the year.

 

"Generally from the time we start moving dirt, it usually takes 10 to 12 months," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman KariAnne Fallow. "The last two or three months are consumed with setting merchandise on the inside of the store."

 

City Council members approved the store's site plan in the summer, but Wal-Mart pulled its full building permits from the city about three weeks ago, which allows it to start building, said Jim McNulty, Saratoga Springs planning director. Construction workers are currently putting in the foundation, he said.

 

Fallow said the store will employ about 400 people. McNulty said the store also could attract other retailers to the area.

 

"Because the Wal-Mart will come in, we'll get large office and retail users, like Home Depot or Lowe's," he said. "Midbox or bigger operations will eventually come to Saratoga, too, because Wal-Mart came in first."

 

Residents of Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and west Lehi will shop at the Wal-Mart store, which also adds to the appeal for businesses to follow in Wal-Mart's footsteps and establish stores in the fast-growing city, he said. Residents in Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and Lehi now have to drive to American Fork to visit the nearest Wal-Mart.

 

Although many people are anti- Wal-Mart, city officials say they have seen little resistance to the incoming store. Only one or two people have spoken against it publicly, said Saratoga Springs City Councilwoman Mia Love. Several of those who spoke out against the store were owners of car repair and tire stores who opposed the tire center. E-mail: csmith@desnews.com