Walmart developer decides to skip own community meeting

Projected Walmart drawings

Foulger-Pratt, the developer behind the complex planned for the intersection of Georgia and Missouri, has now pulled out of a community meeting set for tomorrow night, according to the Brightwoodian.  In addition, it’s likely at this point that the Curtis Chevrolet car barn will not be part of the plan for the new location.

If you’d like to attend the community meeting, it’s tomorrow night at 7pm at the Emory United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall at 6100 Georgia Ave NW.  Many upset with this about face from Foulger-Pratt will note that you can email their representative Dick Knapp at dknapp@foulgerpratt.com to voice your displeasure.

Update: We spoke with Walmart this afternoon, and they have confirmed that Foulger-Pratt is once again attending the development meeting tomorrow night, and that they are firmly committed to the Georgia & Missouri location.

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8 thoughts on “Walmart developer decides to skip own community meeting

  1. Of course Foulger Pratt isn’t attending. Their job is to develop that parcel of land–the curtis car barn. They are not owner’s reps. They are not real estate brokers. Their sole job was to oversee the redevelopment and construction of that particular piece of land. Now that Walmart isn’t considering that property, Foulger Pratt is no longer involved.

    If you don’t know what the difference between a developer, an owner, a tenant, an owner’s rep, and a broker is–then you shouldn’t be writing blog posts about commercial real estate development. Spraying ignorant blame onto any name that might come up in association with Walmart and hoping it sticks– is not going to accomplish anything good or constructive for the community.

    And no, I don’t work for foulger pratt!

  2. @Ogden: It is my understanding that this was a meeting that Foulger-Pratt pushed hard for, and then abandoned, which is why it seems that people are frustrated here. Overseeing the redevelopment of a property means going to the community meetings, with your proposed tenants, to talk about the changes that the development will mean for your community.

    Why did they suddenly reverse their course on attending?

  3. OMG, how dense do you have to be????

    Foulger Pratt reversed course when walmart backed away from selecting their property. Another developer will be involved–the one associated with whatever property Walmart eventually chooses. THAT developer is the one that should be attending the meeting. Why would Foulger Pratt attend a meeting about developing someone else’s land??? Why would any other developer attend? Are you demanding that every competing land developer in the city attend? For that matter, why not demand that representatives from Target and other Walmart competitors attend?

    It seems really clear to me that you just don’t get what a developer is. And for the record, no redevelopment does NOT mean holding community meetings or explaining what your development means to the community. It is a nice gesture and one that many developers elect to undertake, but it is not required.

  4. @Ogden

    Apparently, I can be pretty dense. I have it from Walmart directly (in the last hour) that the Georgia/Missouri location is a done deal, and that that is their location, which means they’re working with Foulger-Pratt to get that job done.

    Perhaps you should be more clear in your objection.

    I’ll admit that I didn’t go to school for urban development, but my understanding here is based upon the knowledge I’ve obtained as part of working this story.

  5. I don’t know how much clearer I can be: I object to blatant rumor-spreading. It’s pretty obvious you had no facts to base your initial post on, yet you did it anyway. It is irresponsible and lacks integrity, to disparage a business for no reason. And now you have the audacity to demand that I explain myself?? Helloo!!! YOU are the one who needs to explain yourself. Why did you simply repeat a rumor without substantiating it? Will you continue to repeat rumors and represent them as fact? And if so, WHY?

    I stand by what I said earlier: Developers who are not involved have no business attending meetings for their competitor’s projects. Whether that be Foulger Pratt or any other company.

  6. @Ogden

    I’m confused by your comments.

    Foulger-Pratt is the developer of record for the project that Walmart is part of, and that’s the subject of the community meeting at issue here. I had it on good authority from a source involved in the planning of the meeting that Foulger-Pratt decided not to attend, and that Walmart had also decided not to attend the meeting associated with the project that they were involved with.

    That’s the story here.

    Thanks to pressure from us, and from other area blogs, Foulger-Pratt is once again attending the development meeting, though Walmart has chosen not to attend that meeting.

    I really am confused by your behavior here.

  7. Tom, You can play deliberately obtuse and innocent here, but I think your readership can easily see what is going on here. To go even further and claim that it was your blog post that ‘pressured’ participants to attend is too laughable for words.

  8. Tom didn’t claim that his blog post changed the actions of F-P, and you’re being a poophead, Ogden. Let it go.