A Roseville Welcome Today for Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart officials today broke ground on their new 150,000 square-foot supercenter for Roseville, saying their project will bring 300 new jobs to the community. 

"We are really looking forward to being a part of your community," said Lisa B. Nelson, of Wal-Mart public affairs and government relations. "We will be invested in the community," she added, noting Wal-Mart gave back a total $18 million in civic and charitable donations to Minnesota communities last year. 

The Roseville store will be built on a 14-acre site at the northeast corner of County Road C and Cleveland Avenue. Nelson said the company expects construction to be completed in about a year.  

Ron Lopez, currently manager of Wal-Mart's St. Anthony store, will be the manager of the new Roseville big-box store. 

Roseville Mayor Dan Roe was on hand, along with officials from Twin Cities North and St. Paul chamber of commerces,  to participate in today's (Wednesday's) groundbreaking ceremonies. 

"We are excited and hopeful this will be one of many (furture) developments in the Twin Lakes" area, Roe said. " A lot of people have been waiting for development here."

The general area, which once was home truck terminals, has been vacant for several years. A previous plan to bring a Costco to the site was derailed due to legal challenges.

Plans for the Wal-Mart store have been more than a year in the making and the discounter's intentions have been met with mixed reaction from the community. Click on these highlighted links to a see a sampling of Patch's coverage of Wal-Mart's Roseville store proposal:  

Wal-Mart To Hire Off-Duty Officers for Roseville Store 

Wal-Mart Closes on Purchase of Roseville Property

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