Wal-Mart to open on July 1

By John w. Goodwin jr.

LIBERTY — Township trustees now know when the anticipated Wal-Mart Supercenter under construction here will open its doors and what road will be widened to ease traffic to the store.

Township Administrator Pat Ungaro said officials have learned that the store plans to open July 1.

Before the store opens its doors, Ungaro said Goldie Road at the Belmont Avenue intersection will be widened to allow for a right turning lane for traffic turning north onto Belmont Avenue. Belmont will not be affected by the widening project.

“With this, traffic will always move without any interruptions at the Goldie Road intersection,” said Ungaro.

The Goldie Road-Belmont Avenue intersection is the closest intersection to the plaza where the Wal-Mart store is being built.

According to Ungaro, the widening project will cost about $260,000. Most of the money, $150,000 will come from Issue II funds. The rest of the money, about $110,000, will be supplied by Wal-Mart, he said.

Wal-Mart began demolishing the old Phar-Mor and Hills Department Store buildings in the Liberty Plaza in January 2008. The new Wal-Mart structure began to go up shortly thereafter.

Bids for the road-widening project, Ungaro said, will be accepted in March and construction will likely begin in April.

An artist’s rendering has shown the building in several shades of earth tones. The building has the appearance of several small stores rather than a large box store.

The drawing showed a central entrance point on the building with “Wal-Mart Supercenter” above the door. There is another set of doors to the left of the main door with “Market and Pharmacy” above it, and on the other side of the main entrance, a door with “Home and Living” across the top.

Ungaro said township officials are happy with the look of the building.

Zoning Inspector Jim Rodway said the plans show the building will be 153,863 square feet. He said the building cost is nearly $10.8 million.

A hiring dispute between Wal-Mart and the city of Youngstown, which provides water for the site, temporarily threatened the project, but that ended when the city signed a deal providing water to the store and agreeing to steps that will make it easier for Youngstown residents to be hired at the facility.

jgoodwin@vindy.com