A spokesman for Wal-Mart says the company has no plans to open a “Super Wal-Mart” in Derby, despite a persistent rumor to the contrary circulating in Connecticut’s smallest city.
“Definitely bad information. We have no plans,” Chris Buchanan, Wal-Mart’s director of public affairs and government relations said in an e‑mail to the Valley Indy Tuesday night.
While the Valley Indy isn’t in the unfounded rumor business, this one seemed to have legs. Residents asked questions about it in Derby City Hall — and it was all over a thread on the Valley Indy’s Facebook wall.
The rumor was basically this — Wal-Mart was buying up leases in the Wal-Mart Plaza on New Haven Avenue in Derby in order to expand its current store into a much larger “Super Wal-Mart.’
In addition, Adam’s Hometown Market, a grocery store next to Wal-Mart, would close to make room for the new mega store.
Not the case, according to an employee from Adam’s.
“We have no plans to close this store,” Sherrie Palmer, the front end supervisor at Adam’s, said in an e‑mail Tuesday.
Both Wal-Mart and Adam’s responded to queries from the Valley Indy in less than eight hours — light speed in terms of inquiries from local news outlets.
The Wal-Mart shopping plaza at 656 New Haven Ave. is owned by DLC Management Corp. and Hutensky Capital Partners.
The two entities purchased the plaza in May 2012.
Derby assessor records show they paid just under $2 million for 652 New Haven Ave. (the McDonald’s restaurant), land in front of McDonald’s and undeveloped land at 34 Sodom Lane (next to Adam’s). It’s unclear whether the $2 million price included the buildings housing Adam’s and Wal-Mart, too.
DLC Management has offices in Westchester County, N.Y. while Hutensky has roots in Connecticut.
The press material published in 2012 indicate the companies were interested in undervalued shopping centers with redevelopment opportunities — and marketing material for Wal-Mart Plaza from DLC Management points out the Sodom Lane land is currently not developed.
For the record, there are no redevelopment plans for Wal-Mart Plaza at Derby City Hall.
Wal-Mart Plaza includes a Town Fair Tire, a business that will be moving out of the plaza because it purchased the land that was once Marcucio Gardens just down the road on New Haven Avenue.
The new Town Fair Tire is under construction.
There is no word on what store will replace Town Fair within Wal-Mart Plaza, though the Valley Indy sent an e‑mail with that question to the plaza’s owners Wednesday.
