will they sell beer with a church next door?

The Wal-Mart parcel is next to property owned by Ninth Street United Methodist Church. Because the market will sell beer and wine, the City Council approved a landscaping barrier to separate the properties.

The market will be about 41,000 square feet, according to documents filed with the Decatur Planning Commission, with an attached fuel center. Terry said Wal-Mart has not obtained permits for the fuel center, but he expects it will do so.

Ninth Street United Methodist Church Pastor Gary Heathcock said his congregation is comfortable with its new neighbor.

“I think it will be just fine,” Heathcock said. “We just want to see our community grow.”

I hope they paint it beige like the rest of the buildinds on 6th. ave.

Buildings!

just what decatur needs another walmart.

Then, "H", stay out of there!! ;)

It is sad that they will cut those trees and miss up the property for a Walmart store. Why couldn't they have found an existing store that is empty on 6th ave.

Jane, when is the last time you saw a Wal-Mart worry about trees and landscaping? (One of the reasons many cities don't want them.) I'm not saying I wouldn't shop there, but this is Big Business and not your (soon-to-be-extinct) Mom & Pop store.

like the rest of 6th avenue, I wonder if they will have a Title Pawn, Check Cashing and Payday Loan Advance?

The 'city council' can't approve ANYTHING!! They are an illegal body! We voted them out TWO YEARS AGO!! Call the Feds. We held an election and the city administration told us to GO TO HE**!!! They should be in jail, not making phony decisions about OUR city!!

Decatur : I will stay out of there, will never walk in the doors of it! I love me some TARGET!!!! dont have to deal with the thugs and illegals that you have to at walmart!

6th avenue is trashy enough without Walmart making it worse.

Guess that means there will be a road expansion. Joy oh joy!!! Just what 6th ave needs. Wal-Mart needs to stay on the belt-line.

boy, it's so refreshing to hear from all these people posting such postive comments about our city, if you don't like it, the highway goes in both directions.

Obviously most of you have never been in the type of Walmart "Market" store that is proposed here. It is primarily a grocery store and has traditionally been positioned in upscale neighborhoods (i.e. - Vestavia, AL). If they build a similar store to the one I've seen there, it will be a nice improvement. Again, many of you habitual posters allow yourselves to be dragged down by the Daily's constant negativity about Decatur. The City hasn't given WalMart a single dime to locate here, just the free market at work. What's your problem with that?

Another project thanks to Don Stanford and Wally Terry. And now Don Kyle will interfere with all the good that has been going on.

I, personally, am excited that it is coming because you know what it means........JOBS!!!!! Come on people, get off your negative wagon and say something nice. If you don't want to go in there, fine...but quit bashing the progress that Decatur is bringing here. Apparently all these bashers have exeptional jobs, immaculate homes, perfect families and don't need groceries or such. They also don't sound like they want Decatur to prosper. Shame on you, folks.

Welcome to Decatur Wal-Mart Market!!!!!!

I am all for bringing progress and prosperity to Decatur, but WalMart does not bring progress and prosperity anywhere except to its own executives. WalMart may bring a few local retail jobs, but on an even larger scale, it destroys locally owned businesses and causes American manufacturing jobs to be lost. WalMart is notorious for being a bad employer, paying its workers poverty level wages and benefits. WalMart's tactics are horrible for local economies and for the American economy. WalMart deserves every bit of the bashing it gets.

Here are a few links if you would like to read more and educate yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Walmart

http://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know

http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-10-25/some-uncomfortable-findings-for-wal-mart

Q you are correct! I wouldn't give Wal Mart the time of day and heck what we need is one more run down gas station on 6th Ave. Judy don't worry I won't be going to the store or the gas station, dont ever go to the current Wal Mart because i just don't like supporting the Chinese Economy any more than I have too. Here's an idea, keep the trees and the green space next to the church, sure would add more to the look of the area than a Wal Mart any day of the week.

Bob, love your answer!

The city needs to pass an ordnance outlawing title and loans. But since they didn't go along with the 2010 referendum, why would that matter.

Hmm, how many city councilmen own a title and loan. . . . . . . . ? We know some are slum lords.

That was a lovely green space, now we will add more to green house gases by killing all those nice trees that produce oxygen so we humans can breathe.

The last time I was in WalMart, no one had a gun to their head forcing them to be there. Not the employees or the customers or the investors or the vendors. If you don't like it, don't shop there.

i am a vendor to wal-mart.i will never spend a dime in that store because of the way vendors are treated.we are all thieves.dont think i wanna lose my 65k a year job stealing from those clowns...

DECATUR: so the grocery stores already located on 6th avenue are not "classy enough" ? There are 4 on 6th Ave. already are you to good to go in one of them?

H, have you never been anywhere else? The grocery stores on 6th Ave are average to below average. My point is that this proposed addition will be an improvement, that's all. Don't get your panties in a wad.

There are at least 2 WalMart Markets in Birmingham.

The one in Homewood is sketchy.

The one in Vestavia is upscale.

It's all who you allow to hang around and what you let the thugs get away with.

6th ave needs new developement...we miss alot of tax dollars because people traveling thru do not always drive the beltline....with expansions to pt. mallard and the new hospital changes....it would be nice to have an upscale hotel and other developers make improvements....