BusinessReport.com

The Wal-Mart Supercenter on Burbank Drive that was originally scheduled to open this summer won’t start welcoming shoppers until early 2010—a delay caused by the national economic slowdown. The world's largest retailer has scaled back the number of store openings this year, says Tice White, a spokesman for Wal-Mart in Louisiana and Mississippi. "We want to make sure that we're maximizing our performance at each store," White says. Nearby residents were upset about plans for the store, to be located at Bluebonnet Boulevard and Burbank, when it went before the Planning Commission in June. The plans for the 181,000-square-foot store were approved because the site had been zoned for heavy commercial use. About a month after the Planning Commission vote, Wal-Mart bought the 17.7-acre site for $3.9 million. White says land clearing and activity should start to happen on the property late this year or early 2009. As for another delayed project, Wal-Mart is still looking at converting the former Winn-Dixie store on Government Street behind Superior Grill into a Neighborhood Market. The grocery store isn't as far along as the Burbank Supercenter, but White says it is "still in the pipeline."-- Timothy Boone