By Stan Welch
For four years the Williamston area has been looking for signs and hoping that the talk of Walmart coming to town is true. And though not officially announced, there are new indications that Walmart store 6886 is still coming to Williamston. The Journal has confirmed this week that there are currently ongoing communications between WalMart’s engineering firm and the Anderson County permitting office.
Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns has confirmed that the County has received notification of some additions to the plans that are on file. “The company’s engineering firm has advised us that they will be adding a fueling station and a grocery pickup to the original plans,” Burns said.
Williamston Mayor Mack Durham also confirmed that information. “My understanding is that the landowners involved have agreed to an additional thirty days option on the properties to allow for any loose ends that need to be tied up. Of course we are excited at this news and are looking forward to having WalMart as our neighbor.”
In September 2015, The Journal reported that the store number and location have appeared on various websites and other locations since rumors of a store coming began circulating in 2012. It was also reported that a legal issue involving one of the property owners where the rumored Walmart will locate and the Fred’s store had been the holdup on the project, and that the issue was settled in court last fall.
At the time, Williamston Public Works Department Head David Rogers confirmed that he and Mayor Mack Durham had met with several different people on different occasions to discuss lighting, signage and other details of the project. Rogers said he had also been in the field doing water flow studies with subcontractors.
The town also has received plans for a Walmart store which is proposed to be located on Roberts Boulevard and SC Hwy. 20. The site includes four tracts of property which were annexed by the town and zoned commercial in 2013. Two of the tracts are approximately 10.8 acres while the other two tracts are approximately 17.38 acres.
