Wal-Mart has backed out of plans to

Wal-Mart has backed out of plans to locate a 40,000 sq. ft. Neighborhood Market in Highlands Garden Village, a new urban redevelopment project in Denver (see the June 2004 issue of New Urban News). The store would have anchored the 27-acre project’s mixed-use village center, but faced heavy opposition from residents in nearby neighborhoods. Three other grocers have since expressed interest in Highlands Garden Village, developer Chuck Perry told New Urban News. Perry credits the fleeting interest on the part of Wal-Mart with getting supermarket firms to take another look at the project. Prior to Wal-Mart expressing interest, Perry had contacted 20 grocery chains unsuccessfully. Wal-Mart told Perry the decision had nothing to do with local opposition. “They decided to focus on larger stores,” he explains. It would have been the first Neighborhood Market in any new urban development. Though this type of store is small enough to fit on tight urban sites, most are located in typical suburban environments.