A warm welcome for Wal-Mart

A long-awaited Wal-Mart Supercenter opened Wednesday morning in Falcon, with shoppers wasting no time in hitting the aisles.

At a grand-opening ceremony, Girl Scouts sang the national anthem. Pastor Pat Jeffrey of Grace Community Church led the crowd in prayer. And employees roared a Wal-Mart cheer before manager Marc Skaggs ended the ceremony with, “All right, let’s do some shopping!”

Many in the crowd needed no encouragement. The hot item: a Black and Decker cordless drill and circular saw set at a special price of $10.

“Christmas shopping in July,” Sam Leffler said as he wheeled a cart full of the sets toward a checkout lane.

Leffler can remember, not too many years ago, when Falcon was just a blur of prairie to motorists headed to Colorado Springs.

“We had a gas station and a fire station, and that was about it,” he said.

Then the rooftops came — thousands of homes in areas such as Woodmen Hills, Falcon Hills and Meridian Ranch. That was followed by retail. Safeway opened in 2000 and Walgreens in 2005. Falcon residents can get a haircut at Fantastic Sam’s, rent videos from Blockbuster and grab a quick bite at Sonic, Wendy’s and other fast-food restaurants.

But until Wednesday, the unincorporated area east of the Springs lacked the king of retail: Wal-Mart.

The 184,212-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter, at the southwest corner of Woodmen and Meridian roads, is little more than a stone’s throw from businesses such as Farmer Jim’s and Bartlett Hay that reflect Falcon’s rural roots. While some longtime residents may resent the suburbinization of Falcon, Leffler believes most embrace the arrival of businesses and services that save them a drive to the Springs.

Wal-Mart is not always so warmly welcomed. It faced protests when it proposed stores in Monument and Woodland Park. And Wal-Mart scrubbed plans for a store in southeast Colorado Springs after fierce opposition. But the Falcon store has avoided controversy.

“It’s just one more convenience for us,” said Bob Deck, president of the Falcon Business League. “We’re big enough now to have one, so I welcome it.”

With gas prices above $3 a gallon, Jeffrey of Grace Community Church also welcomes a chance to cut back on miles on the road.

Still, he said, “sometimes it’s challenging to keep up mentally with how much change and growth goes on out here.”

The Wal-Mart, he said, will help develop the area in a business and community sense.

WAL-MART BY THE NUMBERS

8

Wal-Mart Supercenters in the Pikes Peak region, including the Falcon store. A ninth is slated to open in Woodland Park in September.

22

Full-service checkout lanes at the Falcon store. There are seven express checkout lanes.

1.3 million

Wal-Mart employees in the United States. Wal-Mart is the No. 1 private employer in the Pikes Peak region and in the country.

350

Approximate number of jobs planned at the Falcon store. More than 1,200 applications have been received, manager Marc Skaggs said.

127 million

Customers per week who visit Wal-Mart stores in the U.S.

$11.50

Average hourly wage for full-time Wal-Mart employees in Colorado.

$29,500

Donations the Falcon store gave to local organizations this week, including $5,000 each to the Lions Club and the El Paso County Fair and Events Complex.

25

Associates at the Falcon store who have worked at Wal-Mart for more than 10 years.

100

Rough number of skylights in the Falcon Wal-Mart that refract daylight throughout the store as part of an energy-saving daylight-harvesting system.