Wal-Mart construction to soon begin

By April Taylor, Record Editor
Published: December 24, 2008

If all goes as planned, Gateway Center in Ruckersville will be completed by 2012, and Wal-Mart - the project’s remaining anchor store - will open by the end of 2009.
Bob Pingry, project manager for Gateway Center, expects construction on the much-anticipated Wal-Mart Supercenter to be well underway by March. 
In fact, Greene County Building Official Steve Borders says that an engineer for Wal-Mart is “getting all of his necessary permits” and hopes to seal a contractor within the next four weeks.
“We’re excited about the project and look forward to the completion date,“ said Wal-Mart spokesman Rob Shinn in a phone interview this week. 
In the meantime, Pingry notes the recent debut of Gateway Center’s other big box anchor: Lowe’s.
The home improvement store officially celebrated its grand opening on December 4. At a size of 117,000 square feet, it includes an adjacent garden center. According to the company’s press release, Lowe’s could bring up to 175 new jobs to the area (mostly full time).
Despite a jittery national economy, Gateway Center has lost little momentum, says Pingry. “The biggest hurdles are done,“ he adds. 
“We’ve been fortunate,“ he says, speaking about the project team of Vannoy Construction, WW & Associates and Geoscience.
“Wal-Mart is a solid anchor to have. If we had to wait to start the project today, financing would have been much more difficult…we are fortunate to have started when we did—and to use a lending environment that wasn’t frozen up.“ 
At least two other national chains are on the horizon for 2009: Arby’s is currently working with county leaders on signs and other issues, and McDonalds has begun its site plan process with the county.
No tentative date is set for the Arby’s. The restaurant will be situated off US 29, near the newest traffic light there. The McDonald’s restaurant will locate off US 33, across from the Wal-Mart.
A large gas station/convenience mart is “looking seriously” at a site at Gateway Center also,  Pingry says. He declined to mention a name. The station would be located near Arby’s.
Preliminary design planning is underway for a multi-tenant retail strip center, too.
The strip center would be located at Enterprise Drive and US 29, comprising approximately 25,000 square feet of what Pingry describes as “small retail users.
  “It’s possible that construction on the strip center could start in 2009, if we get enough pre-lease interest,“ Pingry adds.
The advantage of adding a strip center portion to the 60-plus acre Gateway project is to allow local, smaller shop users to have businesses in a ... “location where people are coming for other reasons, those that have a product or a business different than what the Lowe’s or Wal-Mart are offering.“
Considering the two big box stores, the food chains, the potential gas station, and the strip center, Pingry says Gateway developers are left with about two parcels left to develop.
“That’s pretty strong,“ he remarks.
Asked what the closest similar project to the up-and-coming Gateway Center would be, Pingry said Hollymead of Charlottesville.
“The difference with us and Hollymead is that it has a residential component and a grocery store anchor; we have a grocery store within Wal-Mart.“
Gateway Center also could be compared to the Waynesboro Town Center in Waynesboro, anchored by Target and Kohl’s department store, Pingry added.
  The Ruckersville project still lacks a potential to fill the 70,000-square-foot space between Lowe’s and Wal-Mart.
Pingry doubts that it will be another big box store but says a “medium box” would be ideal.  Examples: Tractor Supply Company, Office Depot or Kohl’s department store.
“That’s the one site that’s going to take longer down (the road), probably 2012 or 2011 before something happens,“ he explains. 
In the meantime, the project is bringing a number of new roads to the area, including Enterprise Drive and Stoneridge Blvd. 
Built within the Gateway Center development and along these roads are several undisturbed “wetland areas,“ says Pingry.
“That’s something unique about the center” and should add to its aesthetic value, he says.