Walmart plans to refresh Tacoma Supercenter next year. Here’s what to expect
Retail giant Walmart has filed plans with the city of Tacoma detailing a makeover for its Union Avenue Supercenter.
In a permit filing, the work is tentatively set to begin in July of next year at the site, 1965 S. Union Ave.
If all goes according to plan, the start of the remodel would be 10 years to the month after the store’s opening.
Lauren Willis, Walmart’s global communications director for the retailer’s Western U.S. region, confirmed the filing with The News Tribune this week.
“We are planning for these updates at this time,” Willis said via email.
Plans filed Nov. 3 with the city call for relocating the electronics desk and adding digital display boards, interior painting as well as repairing and replacing flooring.
The renovation also calls for reconfiguring the back of the store “to add mother’s room, training room, and storage,” according to the filing.
The restrooms will be upgraded with new hand dryers, and the customer service area is set to be remodeled. The project also will “revise checkout stands and add refrigerated cases to front of store for grab and go.”
Willis said, “The store will be getting all new registers, which will include self-checkout registers.”
The filing calls for installation of a “modular pharmacy,” relocation of the store’s photo lab and bringing in “new vision center equipment and finishes.”
Willis said, “The modular pharmacy includes new counters, privacy dividers and a patient privacy room.”
The store’s break room is also set to be remodeled, and the store’s refrigerated grocery cases will be replaced.
New bollards are planned for store’s exterior at the entrances, as well as “new finishes for entry vestibule.”
The store’s remodel is estimated to cost $750,000, according to the filing.
The store opened July 17, 2013, after winning a development battle with the city.
The city eventually paid more than $2 million to developers, following an order issued by a U.S. District Court judge who ruled that the city was wrong to apply a moratorium to permit applications for the store.
