Southgate Makes Way For Wal-Mart
Demolition is under way for a new Wal-Mart in the heart of Downriver. Crews have torn down the old Best Buy shopping center at Dix and Eureka for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter next year.
Southgate Mayor Joseph Kuspa says it's a welcome sign for a shopping center that saw stores in the strip gradually disappear over the past decade.
"Being vacant was certainly not a positive image, especially sitting next to our municipal complex, so we're very pleased it's going to be redeveloped," he said.
Kuspa says the city did not use tax abatements or other incentives to seal the deal. "I think there's a negative reaction when municipalities bend over backward to bring these type of developments into the city," said Kuspa.
The new store will mean 250 new jobs when it opens, likely in the summer or fall of 2011.
Copyright 2010, WWJ Radio. All Rights Reserved.
