A proposed D.C. development would place hundreds of apartments above a store, but other projects emphasize parking, not pedestrian-friendly streets. Chicago and New York also face Walmart campaigns.
Philip Langdon looks at what a Walmart presence might mean for Washington, where the company is pursuing varied design approaches for stores containing 76,000 to 126,000 square feet - substantially smaller than Walmart's typical 185,000 sq. ft. supercenter.
In terms of enhancing the city's physical character, by far the best of the Washington proposals is a 76,000 sq. ft. store that's scheduled to break ground late this year in a rapidly redeveloping area west of Union Station.
"We liked it a lot," says Harriet Tregoning, director of the District of Columbia Office of Planning. Beneath the discount store will be four or five local shops, totaling 10,000 sq. ft., and three levels of underground parking.
Thanks to Robert Steuteville
Read the full story: Walmart enters Washington in drive to open stores in big cities
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