Wards Corner Now – Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia

Thanks to Ray Ransom and Freda Burns, both with the City of Norfolk, for their quick response to my inquiry about the lane closure on Granby Street in front of the new TowneBank.  

The cause for the closure is a sewer line collapse under the sidewalk.  According to Norfolk Utilities, the sewer line has been replaced and final restoration should be completed within the next two weeks.

The Virginian-Pilot is reporting that Sam’s Club will be building a store at the old Kmart location at Tidewater Driven and E. Little Creek Road.  The story:

Sam’s Club plans to open its first Norfolk store at the site of the former Kmart on East Little Creek Road and Tidewater Drive, according to documents filed with the city on Monday.

Sam’s – part of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. – is requesting permission to sell tires and alcohol for off-premise consumption. The company also wants to build a gas station that would serve the new Sam’s Club and an existing Wal-Mart to the south.

Sam’s plans to tear down the Kmart building that sits on the southeast side of the intersection of East Little Creek and Tidewater. In its place, the company would build a 135,000-square-foot warehouse for its club members, according to preliminary site plans issued with the requests.

Kmart occupied the location for nearly 40 years, but it closed last summer after officials of Sears Holdings Corp., Kmart’s beleaguered parent company, decided to close many stores across the country.

Norfolk Development Director Steven Anderson told the City Council on Tuesday that Sam’s is expected to generate $800,000 in annual sales tax revenue from $80 million in annual sales.

The store will cost $20 million and create 180 jobs, he said. An opening date has not been set.

Norfolk already is home to BJ’s Wholesale Club and Costco Wholesale, which are half a mile apart near Military Circle. Sam’s Club already has four stores in the region: two in Chesapeake and one each in Virginia Beach and Newport News.

The Norfolk Branch NAACP, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads are joining together to sponsor two political debates in April 2014.

First:  On Tuesday, April 15, 2014 in the Granby High School Auditorium from 7PM to 8:30PM.   Ms. Barbara Hamm Lee from WHRO will moderator the event.

On Stage:
Mayoral candidates – Mayor Paul Fraim, Michael Muhammad and Jane Bethel
Ward 5 candidates – Councilman Tommy Smigiel and Jim Driggers

Second:  On Tuesday, April 17, 2014 in the Booker T. Washington High School Auditorium from 7PM to 8:30PM.  Dr. Carol Pretlow, Associate Professor, NSU, will moderate the event.

On Stage:
Ward 3 candidates – William Collins, Jr.; Mamie Johnson; Glen Jones, Sr.; Rodney Jordan; Marcus Powell; and Lionell Spruill, Jr.
Ward 4 candidates – Councilman Paul Riddick and Billy Cook