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Rally Planned To Protest Wal-Mart's $10 Million City Subsidy
Denver Wants Wal-Mart Relocated To Alameda Square Shopping Center
POSTED: 8:51 a.m. MDT October 8, 2003
UPDATED: 10:21 a.m. MDT October 8, 2003
DENVER -- Protesters are planning a rally later today against a plan to bring Wal-Mart to their West Denver neighborhood.
The city of Denver wants to redevelop the Alameda Square Shopping Center and put in a new Wal-Mart Supercenter. If Wal-Mart moves in to the 20-acre site on Alameda Avenue and Zuni Street, every business there now -- many of them catering to Asian-Americans -- would have to go. One plan would be to demolish the shops that are standing.
The city has been trying for at least 12 years to redevelop the "blighted" property and now, it appears that Mayor John Hickenlooper's administration might be getting close.
The city is willing to offer Wal-Mart a $10 million subsidy to build at the center and Wal-Mart said it is interested and won't open a store there unless it gets the money.
Organizers from the Front Range Economic Strategy Center said they want to educate the public about tax breaks offered to Wal-Mart as an incentive to build -- tax breaks that they say are unnecessary because the mega-store can afford to pay its own way to build a store.
City leaders say that the city will reap the benefits in tax revenue and local neighborhoods would reap the benefits of a revitalized economic area.
Residents of neighboring blocks, many of whom are elderly and Hispanic, say they need a new place to shop but local merchants wonder where they'll go.
"They want us to move, but no, no, we don't know where we'll move to. I don't know where to go," said Sufan Sui, owner of King's Land Chinese Restaurant.
"Our neighborhood needs a place where they can go down and get a jug of milk and a pair of pantyhose," said neighborhood resident Jan Wells.
A recent BusinessWeek article reported that Wal-Mart is the world's largest company with $245 billion in annual revenue and 4,750 stores. It commands 30 percent of the U.S. market in consumer staples and serves 138 million shoppers a week. Wal-Mart is also Colorado's largest private employer.
City officials estimate that the superstore would generate $12.2 million in new taxes between its opening date and 2016 as compared to the current shopping center, which turned over $125,263 in sales taxes to the city in 2001.
The city of Denver wants to redevelop the Alameda Square Shopping Center and put in a new Wal-Mart Supercenter. If Wal-Mart moves in to the 20-acre site on Alameda Avenue and Zuni Street, every business there now -- many of them catering to Asian-Americans -- would have to go. One plan would be to demolish the shops that are standing.
The city has been trying for at least 12 years to redevelop the "blighted" property and now, it appears that Mayor John Hickenlooper's administration might be getting close.
The city is willing to offer Wal-Mart a $10 million subsidy to build at the center and Wal-Mart said it is interested and won't open a store there unless it gets the money.
Organizers from the Front Range Economic Strategy Center said they want to educate the public about tax breaks offered to Wal-Mart as an incentive to build -- tax breaks that they say are unnecessary because the mega-store can afford to pay its own way to build a store.
City leaders say that the city will reap the benefits in tax revenue and local neighborhoods would reap the benefits of a revitalized economic area.
Residents of neighboring blocks, many of whom are elderly and Hispanic, say they need a new place to shop but local merchants wonder where they'll go.
"They want us to move, but no, no, we don't know where we'll move to. I don't know where to go," said Sufan Sui, owner of King's Land Chinese Restaurant.
"Our neighborhood needs a place where they can go down and get a jug of milk and a pair of pantyhose," said neighborhood resident Jan Wells.
A recent BusinessWeek article reported that Wal-Mart is the world's largest company with $245 billion in annual revenue and 4,750 stores. It commands 30 percent of the U.S. market in consumer staples and serves 138 million shoppers a week. Wal-Mart is also Colorado's largest private employer.
City officials estimate that the superstore would generate $12.2 million in new taxes between its opening date and 2016 as compared to the current shopping center, which turned over $125,263 in sales taxes to the city in 2001.
Previous Stories:
- March 3, 2003: Wal-Mart Takes Over Asian Market Place
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