From a statement released by Wal-Mart today:

Portland, Ore. (June 20, 2007) - "We're proud of the store we proposed for Gresham, a contemporary, compact, urban design (see conceptual drawings at www.walmart-oregon.com), that would have made it one of the most unique Wal-Mart stores in the Northwest. The Gresham store would have greatly improved the area's shopping options, provided high-quality new jobs and increased tax revenue to the community."

"Although LUBA previously remanded the City of Gresham's Hearings Officer's decision to reject our application for a store on West Powell Boulevard, after careful review Wal-Mart has decided not to appeal to LUBA the Hearings Officer's remand decision denying our application. It is unfortunate that this custom designed store will not be built. It was supported by the City planning staff and local residents, and satisfied all the land use approval criteria except for one traffic issue that was not discussed during the hearings process."

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From the city of Gresham's web site:

Today the City’s Hearings Officer Joe Turner issued a denial on Wal-Mart’s application to build a supercenter at 182nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard. In April the Land Use Hearings Board remanded the decision back to the City’s hearings officer. This decision reaffirms his November 16, 2006 decision that denied the application.

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Gresham hearings officer reaffirms denial of controversial application

By Chad Abraham
The Gresham Outlook
(click above for original story, including reader comments)

Saying Wal-Mart’s developer had not met its burden of proof regarding traffic impacts, the city of Gresham’s hearings officer again denied the company’s bid to build at a busy intersection.

 read more here »

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In January, 2005, Wal-Mart proposed building a Supercenter on the SE corner of Powell and 182nd. This is the location of the QFC store that closed shortly after opening (across from Safeway).

The original plans were for a 200,000+ sq. foot Supercenter with underground parking for approximately 1,000 vehicles.

After submitting its completed application to the city of Gresham, it was denied based on safety and traffic concerns.

It appealed this ruling to the city's hearings officer, which upheld the city's denial.

Rather than appealing to the state's Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), Wal-Mart is scaling down its building size and planning to submit a new application for a 112,000 sq. foot building. It would still house the full 36 departments; however, it would all be crammed into a smaller space.

Recently it even paid more than $7 million for the property, a sign that it will not give up on the location anytime soon.

The property is zoned as Community Commercial. The city development code specifically states that "new buildings will be pedestrian-oriented with parking placed behind or beside buildings."

This Wal-Mart Supercenter definitely does not meet that description.

More information on the property, city codes, and the development process.

Wal-Mart's site on the Gresham Wal-Mart

Eight ways to beat Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Watch

** Note: This has been updated with the most recent information. For the original posting, click here.