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41 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 22, 2004 Business owners skeptical of Wal-Mart study By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — City officials and local business owners say they are skeptical of a recent study that determined a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter would impact fewer than a handful of downtown businesses. The economic impact analysis was completed by Ferrarini and Associates of Clackamas and paid for by Wal-Mart. City planners requested the study because of concerns a 207,000-square-foot store would drive small business out of downtown and hurt revitalization efforts. The study said a supercenter would compete directly with two downtown stores, or 3 percent of the downtown’s 68 tenants: Ray’s Food Place and Pharmacy Express. The study also said the competition would not necessarily result in closure of either. Aside from location, the study found little difference in impact from a supercenter, which would offer groceries, and the Medford Wal-Mart, which will close once the new store opens. The study concluded the addition of a supercenter equates to a new grocery store coming to town. Advertisement Numerous calls to Ray’s requesting comment were not returned. Representatives of Pharmacy Express declined to comment. Community development director Tom Humphrey had some reservations about the study. "They’ve (Wal-Mart) hired somebody who is supposed to be an objective third party," he said. "My concern, the reason I asked for this study, was that I felt there would be an adverse impact on downtown businesses. "We’re at a point we’re just seeing business pick up in recent years. We’ve got a couple different waves of revitalization taking place. I was concerned that, you attract people from the downtown or shift the focus of a commercial center, the downtown would continue to languish. "We’re just at the point we’re starting to see it turn around and we don’t want to have something adversely affect that. I’m not completely convinced there’s not some element of bias (in the study)." Horse Blanket owner Keith Brostad, who did not expect competition from the supercenter for his own store, said it was unreasonable to think a big-box retailer would not affect other local businesses to some degree. "Go to Willows, California, where a Wal-Mart moved in and where there was a thriving downtown at one point. One year later, it’s a quiet downtown, places shut down, out of business. ... They impact communities more than they’re willing to admit." Judy’s Central Point Florist manager Sharon Sills felt the proposed store would create competition and magnify traffic problems that would detract from downtown businesses. "We know they’ll impact our business," she said. "They’ll carry flowers the same as we do. It’ll impact our business with traffic, whether that’s positive or negative, I think it will definitely impact the city of Central Point in a number of ways." Norm Rush, store manager for the Central Point Grange Co-op, felt certain the proposed supercenter would create competition. "I guess we would be foolish to think it wouldn’t affect our business to some degree," he said, "but we also like to think that we have services that the big-box store won’t offer, like customer service, local products. "As far as worrying about the community, one of the biggest concerns is bottle-necking of traffic that’s already pretty bad. If our customers can’t get off the freeway in a timely fashion and proceed to downtown, that’s going to be negative in itself," said Rush. Wal-Mart spokesperson Amy Hill said the study results proved that a supercenter would help, rather than hurt, downtown business. "I think what this report has shown is that there is more than enough opportunity for all types of business to do well in Central Point," said Hill. "We have seen in other communities where the presence of a supercenter keeps people in town to shop. Because they’re staying in town to shop, they’re also frequenting downtown merchants. So many people right now are probably leaving Central Point to do their shopping at the Wal-Mart in Medford anyway." Humphrey said city officials would continue to review the study and may consult an economic analyst. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times