I just got back from the St. Vital Centre Walmart and construction is well underway on it’s conversion to one of Winnipeg’s first Supercentre locations. They’ve already moved the whole electronics department to the back of the store (similar to the Supercentre at Grand Forks, North Dakota).
The St. Vital Centre Walmart is only one of three planned Winnipeg Walmarts being converted to Supercentre locations. The other two are at Ellice and Empress, and Portage and Buchannan.
[quote]Wal-Mart Supercentres are hypermarkets with size varying from 98,000 to 261,000 square feet (9,104.5 to 24,247.7 m2), with an average of about 197,000 square feet (18,301.9 m2). These stock everything a normal Wal-Mart Store does, and also include a full-service supermarket, including meat and poultry, baked goods, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products, garden produce, and fresh seafood. Many Wal-Mart Supercentres also have a garden center, pet shop, pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical centre, one-hour photo processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops, such as cellular phone stores, hair and nail salons, video rental stores, local bank branches, and fast food outlets — usually Subway, but sometimes Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s or Blimpie.[endquote]
At this rate, expect construction to be complete before summer. The three Walmart locations remain open during construction.
Image Walmart Supercentre – South Edmonton Commons Originally uploaded by mjb84
