Supercenter expansion expected to create about 85 new jobs.
John Caci of Auburn stocks some fresh iceberg lettuce in the produce section of the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Auburn. Wal-Mart Inc. plans to upgrade its East Syracuse site into a Supercenter with a full grocery store.Wal-Mart wants to expand its East Syracuse store by constructing a 30,000-square-foot addition, adding a full-line grocery store to make it a Supercenter.
Supercenters, like the one in Cicero, sell food, including perishables and have a bakery, deli, and more. The East Syracuse store off Manlius Center Road (Rt. 290) would be smaller than some of the Supercenters, and would be built on the existing site, said East Syracuse village planners.
The store at 6438 Basile Road would expand from 125,000-square-feet to 156,000-square feet, planners said. Wal-Mart is building smaller Supercenters lately because of efficiency and because they are easier for customers to navigate, said Bill Wertz, speaking for Wal-Mart.
With the expansion, the Wal-mart would be bigger than Wegman’s in DeWitt, which is about 141,000 square feet. The proposed Wal-mart addition is the about the same size at the Best Buy store on Erie Boulevard East in DeWitt.
The expansion is expected to create about 85 new jobs, most of them full-time, Wertz said.
In 2006, Wal-Mart had proposed a much bigger expansion at the East Syracuse site of almost 212,000-square feet, but never pursued that plan partly because it would have been costly to purchase adjoining properties.
Supercenters are typically about 185,000 square feet, according to Wal-Mart’s corporate website. Wal-Mart operates about 60 Supercenters in New York, including ones in Camillus, Cicero, Auburn, Norwich, Oneida, Rome and Central Square.
Bergmann Associiates is working on the site design, and has been before the village planning board outlining the plans in detail.
Work is scheduled to start this fall, and the new addition would open in 2012, said East Syracuse Planning Board Chairman Ron Gustafson. Although the store will expand on its own site on a grassy area on the east side of the building, the board would have to approve the site plan. A final plan will be presented in August, but Gustafson said the board is pleased with the proposal and doesn’t foresee any problems.
"We’re really excited about what this will bring to the village," said East Syracuse Mayor Dan Liedka. "It will bring more jobs, and more convenience for our residents."¶
Wal-Mart would add 20 parking spaces to the existing 710-space lot at the northern end. A sidewalk and additional cross walks would be added.
Wal-Mart conducted a traffic study that said there actually would be less impact on the weekends because people would stay and shop longer. The analysis predicted a 4-percent increase or 67-car net increase at peak hours of operation, and a 1-percent overall increase overall.
Elizabeth Doran can be reached at edoran@syracuse.com or 470-3012.