Updated at 5:45 p.m.
Walmart plans to relocate and expand its location in Rutland — a move that has some concerned about the economic impact on the city and how residents who shop there will access the new store.
The company told the Town of Rutland Selectboard Tuesday it will submit plans to move its store in downtown Rutland City to the site of the former Diamond Run Mall.
The new location in Rutland town would be a Walmart “Supercenter,” offering groceries, a drive-thru pharmacy, auto care and expanded online pickup.
“We look forward to the opportunity to grow in Rutland,” Chris Buchanan, Walmart’s director of government affairs and state and local government relations, said in a statement. “This new location will allow us to bring hundreds of daily grocery items to residents, while strengthening our commitment to local nonprofits and community members who frequent our store.”
The company said it plans to keep all jobs from the current location and expects to create 100 new full- and part-time positions. The project is also expected to create 100-150 construction jobs throughout the relocation.
The new location would be the fourth Walmart Supercenter in Vermont. The state has a total of six Walmarts that collectively employ more than 1,500 associates in the state, according to the company.
The announcement did not surprise Michael Talbott, president of the Rutland Board of Aldermen, who said he’s been hearing rumors about Walmart’s relocation plans for 10 years. The board has not yet discussed the announcement, but Talbott suggested the downtown space currently occupied by Walmart could be used to allow other stores in the plaza to expand.
“The goal would be to get another anchor tenant in that space,” Talbott said. But, “everything is just sort of rumors and conjecture.”
“Whatever business it is, I hope it’s a benefit to our community,” said Anna Tadio, chair of the Board of Aldermen’s community and economic development committee.
“The other idea that gets floated around is housing,” Talbott said, citing a housing shortage in the area. “But that’s really up to Brixmor, the owner of the property.”
Brixmor is a real estate development group that owns and operates about 360 retail centers across the country. The company’s property manager for Rutland Plaza did not respond to an email request for comment by publication time.
Efforts to develop and keep Walmart in downtown Rutland go back decades. In the 1990s, Paul Bruhn, a former Vermont preservationist and political advisor, pushed the store to develop its store downtown, rather on the outskirts of town.
Talbott and Tadio both said Walmart’s relocation out of downtown Rutland poses a concern for residents who rely on public transportation to access necessities at the store. Talbott said the city’s bus route will need to be reevaluated.
“I’m fortunate enough that I have a car,” Tadio said. “There are so many people in our city that don’t have a car.”
Another concern for Tadio is losing Walmart’s contribution to the city’s 1% option tax, which she said had helped the city reduce its pension deficit and fund capital improvement projects.
“I would guess that Walmart is a large percent of that,” Tadio said, though she did not provide an exact figure of Walmart’s tax contribution to the city.
Walmart plans to immediately begin the state’s Act 250 permit process with the goal of opening the new store in 2027.
The company has hired A2Z Realty Inc., led by CEO Joe Anthony, to redevelop the mall site.
“I have worked with Joe and his team for many years on this project and we look forward to working alongside the developer to bring this project into reality,” said Lyle Jepson, the executive director of the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region.
Walmart said it plans to continue to communicate with the community about its relocation plans.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Michael Talbott's name.
