More Details Emerge On Proposed Walmart Supercenter For Lake Elsinore

It will take several years to get built, but if all goes as planned Lake Elsinore residents will have a Walmart Supercenter in their community.

As Patch reported on July 17, Walmart has submitted plans to build in the city, but now there are more details available on the project.

According to the plans, the nearly 155,000-square-foot store, located on 17 acres owned by Walmart, would be bordered by Central Avenue, Cambern, and 3rd Street. The store would house general merchandise, along with groceries and a pharmacy, said Rachel Wall, spokeswoman for the giant retailer.

“Our goal is to build a store that better serves the community,” she explained.

Walmart began building Supercenters in 1988. The stores are typically open 24 hours and include specialty shops.

The nearest Superstore is located in Temecula, according to Wall.

The proposed Lake Elsinore store would utilize energy-efficient technology and environmentally friendly features to reduce energy, water consumption and minimize waste, according to Wall.

Walmart has an existing Lake Elsinore store on Grape Street that opened in 1994. It is smaller and Wall said it would close once the new store were opened, although the approximately 230 employees -- most of whom are full-time -- would be moved to the proposed Supercenter site.

Walmart owns the Grape Street building and the company would “aggressively” market the property through its own realty department, Wall continued.

At the proposed new location, Wall anticipates there will be approximately 300 employees, meaning the company will need to hire about 70 more people.

The new store would maintain a high ratio of full-time employees, with the majority of the 300 associates still full-time with benefits, she added.

According to Wall, Walmart currently ranks within the Top 10 in terms of bringing sales tax revenue to Lake Elsinore. She expects to maintain that position.

“It’s a significant investment in the community,” she continued.

In addition to a Supercenter, the giant retailer is looking to provide retail space at the location for businesses that will complement Walmart and increase its revenues in the process, such as restaurants and a gas station, although no companies have been named.

“It is early in the process,” Wall said.

Currently, there are three “out buildings” planned, with each roughly 3,500 square feet in size, bringing the total retail space at the proposed site to approximately 165,000 square feet.

Given the project is large-scale and will impact the environment, noise and traffic in the city, an Environmental Impact Report is being drafted. The process is expected to take at least a year, and there will be many public hearings along the way, Wall said.

Traffic at the already busy Central Avenue exit at the 15 Freeway will likely spark some conversation, but Wall argued poor in-and-out access is not only bad for residents and visitors, it’s bad for Walmart.

If people are bogged down by traffic congestion, “it doesn’t serve us well either,” she said. “We take our role as a corporate neighbor seriously.”

Wall would not speculate on what Walmart would spend to mitigate traffic at the site, saying the company doesn’t provide budget figures on its projects.

Regardless, she said, it will take time before the third-party traffic study is completed as part of the Environmental Impact Report process, so costs are unknown.

According to Lake Elsinore Sr. Planner Richard MacHott, the city is choosing a consultant to draft the EIR, and Walmart agreed to that.

“They felt it would be better,” he said.

For its part, Wall said Walmart is very excited about the opportunity to serve the community. Lake Elsinore residents have expressed the desire for more options and this project will help meet those needs, she said.

Some say Lake Elsinore’s growth spurt also has potential to impact Walmart’s bottom line.

“Clearly, Walmart anticipates a lot of rooftops,” MacHott said.