It’s official! Walmart is coming to town!

Well, not our town, but Chatham County, just over the line. And to the victor go all the spoils. Walmart has announced it will build a huge 148,500 square foot store on the 15-501 commercial corridor near Smith Level Road and hire 300 employees.

Walmart cash registers will soon be ringing and Chatham County will rake in the sales tax dollars. Then the property tax will begin to roll in.

Meanwhile, traffic will beat a path across Chapel Hill roads to the Walmart store just a stone’s throw away. More lost business for local merchants.

All this sound familiar? Déjà vu!

First, there was New Hope Commons along with several other commercial developments that went to Durham. The proposed Obey Creek mixed-use complex in Chapel Hill fell through because of town restrictions.

Long in the planning process, projects such as Aydan Court and Charterwood have met similar fates though Charterwood may be revived.

Chapel Hill is hemorrhaging tax dollars and there’s no end in sight.

Let’s hope Town Council gets its act together soon before Chapel Hill becomes the sole enclave of the rich and well-to-do.

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