Wal-Mart construction in Carson not yet begun

The only activity in the vacant lot at Hot Springs Road and College Parkway is blowing dust.

Despite plans to have a new Wal-Mart Supercenter finished by the summer of 2005, construction has not yet started. The building plans were filed with Carson City in June. A company spokesman said staff still don't know when construction will begin.

"I don't have a specific date for construction," spokesman Eric Burger said. "But what I can say is, when construction starts normally, a project of this size would be completed in about 10 months."

According to plans filed with the city, the 203,000-square-foot store will face East College Parkway with a large parking lot that will include landscaping, unlike the former store on South Carson Street.

The Wal-Mart will also have a decorative, earth-toned storefront.

It will have access at Table Rock Drive and a private drive off North Roop Street. The section of Hot Springs Road between College Parkway and Roop Street will be closed.

Wal-Mart moved to Douglas County in mid-August 2002. Wal-Mart officials have said that if the Carson City project stays on track, the store should open by summer 2005.

A McDonald's fast-food restaurant will be built inside the store, as well as a pharmacy with a drive-through window, a one-hour photo shop, optical store, garden center, beauty salon and tire and lube express station.

The store's loading and receiving area is next to a residential neighborhood.

To cut down on noise, plans include a 10-foot screen wall along the back side of the building, with another 8-foot wall along the property line. The building will be 60 to 100 feet from the residential property line.

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.