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.
Related Stories
‹
![]()
Witness: Walmart Employee Opened Fire in Break Room; 6 DeadWritten by ALEX BRANDON A Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees gathered in the break room of a Virginia store, a witness said Wednesday. Six people died in the country’s second high-profile mass shooting in a handful of days. The gunman, who apparently killed himself, was dead when police found him, said Chesapeake Police […]
![]()
Walmart Pulls Violent Game Displays; No Change on Gun SalesWalmart is removing from its stores nationwide signs, displays or videos that depict violence following a mass shooting at one of its stores in Texas, though it has not changed its policy on gun sales. The retailer instructed employees in an internal memo to remove any marketing material, turn off or unplug video game consoles […]
![]()
Walmart Ups the Delivery Game with Next Day ShippingWalmart is rolling out free next-day delivery on its most popular items, increasing the stakes in the retail shipping wars. The nation’s largest retailer said Tuesday it’s been building a network of more efficient e-commerce distribution centers to make that happen. The next-day service will cover 220,000 popular items from diapers and non-perishable food items […]

Hillsborough Police Seek Walmart Assault SuspectHillsborough Police are looking for a woman they say assaulted an elderly woman on Saturday.
![]()
Chatham County Walmart Open For BusinessChapel Hill has its first Wal-Mart up and running, although it’s not actually located in Orange County or even Chapel Hill proper, and won’t provide taxes to the municipality.
![]()
Chapel Hill is Hemorrhaging Tax DollarsIt’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 […]
›