Walmart wants to build another Supercenter in South Miami-Dade, this one at Southwest 288th Street and 137th Avenue, near Homestead Air Reserve Base.
The site is in unincorporated South Dade, and the South Bay Community Council is scheduled to consider a zoning change to accommodate the store. County planners have recommended the board approve the rezoning subject to some conditions.
The 152,000-square-foot store will include a full-service grocery, pharmacy and garden center.
The company said the new store won’t affect the existing store six miles to the south in Florida City. Walmart also has announced plans for a new store six miles to the north at U.S. 1 and 211th Street in Goulds.
Walmart opened a store in Westchester last year and has plans to open a Midtown Miami location, which has been met with criticism and opposition from some neighbors.
But in South Dade the company generally has been welcomed.
A year ago this week, more than 60 residents from the community attended a meeting with Wal-Mart officials to learn about plans for the Goulds store. Many wanted a chance at one of the 350 jobs the new store was expected to create.
According to Walmart spokesman Steven V. Restivo, the company has held several similar meetings for this store and received a similar reception, with people excited about the prospect of jobs and a new store.
“Right now, many local customers are traveling to our Florida City store,” he says.
According to a traffic study commissioned by Walmart, the project would worsen congestion at the already clogged intersection of 288th Street and 137th Avenue, but that could be offset with traffic-light synchronization and some road improvements. The company said it would pay to improve the median along 137th Avenue to make it easier for drivers to turn into the store.