Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust has purchased land near the corner of Joor and Hooper roads in Central to build a Neighborhood Market there.
The land is across the street from Zoar Baptist Church, said Dick Shaffett, who owned some of the property that Wal-Mart purchased. Shaffett said along with the Neighborhood Market, there will be a street leading to the store lined with commercial lots.
Wal-Mart paid about $764,500 for the land, according to documents filed Thursday with the East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s office. Shaffett Inc. sold 2.6 acres for $663,854, while Castillian Partners LLC of Lafayette sold a 0.7-acre tract for $100,624.
Wal-Mart officials would not discuss plans for the property.
Wal-Mart has been concentrating on smaller Neighborhood Markets. They’re more like a traditional grocery store with a bakery, deli and pharmacy and not the massive array of merchandise found in a SuperCenter.
Since the start of the year, Neighborhood Markets have opened in Gonzales, Slidell and Clinton. An Independence store will open on June 24. Neighborhood Markets are under construction in Kentwood and near the Coursey Boulevard-Sherwood Forest intersection in Baton Rouge.
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