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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 4, 2004 Phoenix selectedfor Home Depot site By GREG STILES Mail Tribune Home Depot wants to build a 103,000-square-foot store and 30,000-square-foot garden center on 19-plus acres in northeast Phoenix. The Atlanta-based home improvement giant has signed a letter of intent with Medford attorney and developer Bob Robertson, who is pursuing the matter with the city of Phoenix, Oregon Department of Transportation and the state Department of Land Conservation and Development. Home Depot has sought a Rogue Valley location with freeway visibility since the late 1990s, but zoning and traffic issues have repeatedly turned back the company which reported nearly $65 billion in sales and net income of $4.3 billion for the fiscal year that ended Feb. 1. "There’s no other property (near) Interstate 5 large enough to accommodate them," Robertson says. "If it doesn’t come on my property, it’s not going to be on any property for years to come. Beyond that, there’s no commercial property left in Medford along Highway 62. "The only other potential site is the old Medco property and it’s not zoned properly and I’ve been told it never will." Advertisement The site proposed for Home Depot has a Medford address but is within the Phoenix urban growth boundary. Brian Cannard of Home Depot’s development office in Bellevue, Wash., was unavailable, but Robertson says the chain would provide 200 jobs at an average wage of $13.32 an hour plus benefits. Robertson commissioned a January survey of 92 Phoenix residents to determine what kind of reception the city would give Home Depot. "We asked two questions," Robertson says. "The first was if an employer was willing to come to Phoenix and pay substantially above the minimum wage — and they all were (supportive). If the answer was yes, would they still be in favor if that employer were Home Depot — and 98 percent were in favor." Robertson met strong opposition from Jacksonville residents when he and the owners of the old Opp Mine sought a permit to mine gravel at the site. When the county refused to issue a permit, Robertson and his partners filed a lawsuit against the county seeking compensation for the loss of the property’s use. A federal judge dismissed the suit in 2002. Robertson also was involved in a successful commercial development off Clover Lane at the south interchange in Ashland. When Home Depot decided to pursue the project late last fall, Robertson exercised options on three parcels Nov. 10, paying $2.05 million — or roughly $100,000 per acre — to Terry and Rodney McLean, Janice Marie Hasler and the Richard Grove Trust. The major hurdles awaiting Home Depot will take several months to clear if it is to become Phoenix’s largest retailer. North Phoenix Road curls around the north, west and south fringes of the property, but the majority of customer access is expected to come off the freeway via Fern Valley Road. Robertson hired JRH Transportation Engineering of Eugene Wednesday morning to conduct a six-week traffic study to measure the impact the home improvement center would have on the Fern Valley interchange. The land is presently zoned farm residential land, but Robertson is seeking to get the zoning changed to interchange business. Property owners and consultants recommended and the City Council has designated the area around the freeway for interchange business. The city is developing a list of uses with or without special permits and development standards for interchange business zoning. But apparently, when the city’s land-use jig-saw puzzle was constructed, a piece or two in that area didn’t make it into the box. Phoenix planner Denis Murray says the state kicked back the city’s comprehensive plan in 2001, calling its business land designation too general. "(The state) was very concerned we might allow too much retail commercial (activity) eat up all the traffic capacity at the interchange," Murray says. The existing businesses at Fern Valley interchange — a truck stop, restaurant and motel on the east side of the freeway and the factory outlet shopping center and RV park on the west side — are zoned as tourist commercial and general commercial. "Tourist commercial didn’t mean too much and general commercial is the same as we have along Highway 99," Murray says. "It should’ve been highway commercial, since it was along the freeway and that’s how those properties were developed." Murray says it will likely take three months before the zoning issues can be ironed out, then another four months before formal public hearings can be held. One thing favoring Robertson and Home Depot is that the Fern Valley interchange is on the Tier 1 funding list for improvement sometime between 2008 and 2012. Thus, traffic studies can consider eventual load capacities. "Home Depot," Robertson says, "has indicated that it will do everything it can to satisfy the regulatory agencies that it will not create an undo impact." FYI on DIY Home Depot owns and operates 1,471 do-it-yourself warehouse retail stores offering building materials, home improvement products and related furnishings. The nearest Home Depot is in Klamath Falls and opened in the fall of 2002. For the fiscal year ending Feb. 1, Home Depot’s net sales rose 11 percent to $64.82 billion. Net income rose 17 percent to $4.3 billion. The proposed Phoenix store would be 103,000 square feet with a 30,000-square-foot garden center. The Rogue Valley store would employ 200 full- and part-time workers. Full-time employees average $13.32 per hour plus benefits and part-timers would average $10.51. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Fundraisers Advertisement s