Wal-Mart Supercenter Construction Begins

Developers of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Hillsborough have been working arduously on the project for more than 2 1/2 years. And last week, their hard work paid off as developers Bill Anderson and Jerry Dickens broke ground on the Hampton Pointe shopping center off N.C. 86.

The Hillsborough Town Board approved the site in November 2001 but has been working on getting approval from the Orange County Department of Planning and Inspections for the development's erosion-control measures.

The board, while considering Hampton Pointe, insisted on several aesthetic changes before approving a Special Use Permit. The developers, to satisfy the town's demands, revised their plan to include more sidewalks and the breaking up of one larger building into four small ones.

"It's been quite a long procedure for the developers," said Hillsborough Mayor Joe Phelps. "But they finally got all their plans off the ground and going."

The Wal-Mart Supercenter will be the first store to open in the shopping center. It is slated to be completed by late summer.

The site is about 10 miles from UNC's campus down Airport Road (N.C. 86), and officials hope to attract students to the new location.

The closest Wal-Mart to campus now is located at New Hope Commons off U.S. 15-501 and is frequented by many students.

But officials believe that location's dominance could change.

"Once stores, such as bookstores, restaurants and others, develop next to the Super Wal-Mart, UNC students might be attracted over here," Phelps said.

The developers hope that placing different types of stores, such as home improvement and department stores in the Hampton Pointe shopping center, will attract other customers as well.

The new Wal-Mart takes up about 185,000 acres of the 480,000 acres in the shopping center, which makes it almost three times bigger than the Wal-Mart in Hillsborough Commons off South Churton Street.

The new Wal-Mart will compete not only with the other Hillsborough Wal-Mart but also with the new Target store slated to open in the former South Square location in Durham.

The Jan. 7 groundbreaking of the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Hillsborough comes after years of the town moving toward gaining more control over proposed developments.

The board put a moratorium on development on the land chosen for the site in June 2000 and, before lifting the moratorium four months later, strengthened its control over developments by requiring developers to seek both a rezoning and a special use permit.

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.