A Wal-Mart store could come to Landover Hills in Prince George’s County as early as next month, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Wal-Mart will open a store at the Capital Plaza Shopping Center, one of nine new locations announced Tuesday. The shopping center, which has a history of vacant storefronts and a lack of long-lasting tenants, was chosen as part of a program to spur economic revitalization, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Rhoda Washington.
“This can really be an anchor to develop the community,” Washington said.
Construction on the 85,000-square-foot facility is already complete, Washington said. The company has officially targeted this spring for the store’s launch date, but hopes to open the new location by March, she said.
The new store should bring 250 to 350 jobs to the area, Washington said. It will be the first built by the Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart within the Capital Beltway, and because of this, could attract business from farther away than the five-mile radius of customers Wal-Mart usually draws in, she said.
The opening of the store could mean struggles for local businesses in the Landover Hills area.
“Small stores like us will have to weather the storm,” said Jim Walker, manager of Bill’s Hardware in Landover Hills. He noted that his store might lose some business from people looking for basic hardware equipment, but said that the store should be able to maintain business for those looking for better service and more specialty tools.
“We’ve got a pretty loyal following of people who have been coming here for 40, 50 years,” Walker said. “We’ve been through it before with Home Depot.”
