Site work for construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Park Rapids started Thursday.
Dave Neisen, city building inspector, said Wednesday he has completed the plan review and they've submitted a check for a building permit.
The permit puts the valuation of the building at $8.9 million.
According to records at the courthouse, Wal-Mart paid Bill and Lorna Jones $1.2 million for 28 acres east of Henrietta Avenue and paid another $300,000 to Larry and Karen Avenson and Patricia Lang for .68 acre on Highway 34.
Weis Builders of Minneapolis is the general contractor and Sanquist Construction of Park Rapids has the subcontract for the first phase.
ADVERTISEMENT
Spencer Finseth, project manager for Weis Builders, said work will begin with stormwater control and once the area is secure, earth moving will begin.
"We're kind of excited," Finseth said. "It's a really good site."
Although Finseth said the list of subcontractors isn't final yet, "we're trying to hire as many local subs as possible." Effort will be made to buy lumber and materials and rent locally as well, he said.
Neisen said the 161,000-square-foot Wal-Mart is mid-size, the same size as the store in Detroit Lakes. The Supercenter in Baxter is 225,000 square feet. The Wal-Mart that's going to be built in Wadena is 98,000 square feet.
According to Finseth, who has a lake cabin near Nevis, the building will be turned over to Wal-Mart in February and usually stores open about 60 days afterward.
Earlier, Wal-Mart representatives said the Park Rapids store would open in the spring of 2007.
(Lu Ann Hurd-Lof writes for the Park Rapids Enterpris e, a Forum Communications Co. newspaper)
