Fans of the world’s largest retailer are no doubt rejoicing after Walmart announced Tuesday that it plans to build a Supercenter store at Rt. 412 (Hellertown Road) and Commerce Center Boulevard in Bethlehem, just north of I-78 and the Hellertown borough line.
A Walmart store at 8500 Golf Road in Niles, Illinois. (Photo by Pat Krochmal)
That location is at the entrance to Lehigh Valley Industrial Park (LVIP) VII–which is being built out on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land as part of a “brownfields” redevelopment–where Walmart already operates a distribution center.
According to a Channel 69 News WFMZ-TV story, the new Walmart store will be 158,000 square feet in size and will employ approximately 300 people.
The Morning Call reported that a company representative will make a presentation about the store plans before the Bethlehem Planning Commission on Tuesday, June 9, according to a Walmart spokesperson.
The store will include a grocery section, general merchandise section, full-service pharmacy and garden center, the newspaper article indicated.
Hellertown residents and business owners are already expressing concerns on social media about the potential for the store’s opening to significantly increase traffic on Rt. 412 (Main Street) in the borough, where pedestrian safety, parking availability and other quality of life issues have been hot topics in recent years.
Currently the Walmarts closest to Hellertown are located in Bethlehem Township (Rt. 191) and Quakertown (Rt. 309). The Quakertown Walmart is a Supercenter store.
