Just over three years ago, Clinton was a sleepy bedroom community in Davis County where the largest business was a convenience store and city government was the largest employer in town. Today it boasts an Albertson's and a few small shops. Now Clinton is poised to reach another economic milestone — a new Wal-Mart SuperCenter.
This new SuperCenter, in a town of about 16,000 residents, will face west along 2000 West, south of City Hall and just west of the Public Works shops on the southeast corner of 1800 North and 2000 West.
Bob McAdam, vice president of corporate affairs for Wal-Mart, said there's no target date yet for the Clinton store because it is still in the city approval process. However, he sees no reason why it won't clear those hurdles.
"We build where we anticipate the growth will be," he said.
The Clinton SuperCenter will be in the 175,000- to 200,000-square-foot size range and should employ about 500 people, about 60 percent of whom will be full-time workers.
Clinton City Manager Dennis Cluff said the city's Planning Commission has already approved a conditional use and site plan for the store. Wal-Mart is now finalizing its building plan and could be ready to build by April. A separate McDonald's, gas station and an America First Credit Union will be built nearby, too.
"We're looking forward to it," he said. "This will be a regional attraction."
Time has been set aside in Tuesday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m. City Council meeting to discuss the concerns of area residents further. Reaction from the overall city to the large development has been generally positive, though residents of the bordering Tartan Ridge subdivision did express the usual concerns of traffic, noise and lighting.
Ron Christensen, a spokesman of the Tartan Ridge group, said he knew the development in his back yard couldn't be stopped, so he organized neighbors to go after some concessions.
"Most of us felt like we didn't need a SuperCenter," Christensen said. "We were willing to shop at the Layton or Riverdale stores. . . . We moved here to be in the country."
As it is now, Clinton residents have to drive about six or seven miles to either the Layton or Riverdale Wal-Marts. They lobbied and got a 70-foot buffer between them and the store, instead of the usual 50 feet and that includes larger trees than usual.
Christensen's biggest concerns remain safe access by children to the city's main park, across the street on the north from the store, and also to a nearby BMX track and skateboard park. He's also not convinced the Clinton store isn't just coming to stymie the competition in the area and that it might eventually pull out of town after that job's done.
Elwood Johnston, 77, a life-long resident who lives west of the new Wal-Mart, said traffic is already so bad along 2000 West that he's about ready to throw in the towel.
"We think we'll move," he said.
Johnston said the new store will be a sharp contrast to the Parker and Taylor farms that had grown everything from sugar beets to hay to tomatoes to potatoes on the property.
Ruth Schroader, a resident who lives east of the store, is excited about it coming.
"I think it will be a real good thing," she said.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com