Walmart Store Proposed For Wildomar: Project Still Alive

WILDOMAR, CA — Plans to build a Walmart store at the southwest corner of Monte Vista Drive and Bundy Canyon Road in Wildomar are not dead.

On Wednesday the Wildomar Planning Commission will discuss the proposed project, including a two-year time extension request by the giant retailer to pull building/grading permits and start construction.

There are good reasons to think the proposed 185,682-square-foot store was kaput. In 2019, Walmart told the city it would not be going forward with the project and would instead put the nearly 22-acre vacant property on the market.

Since that time, the big-box retailer has apparently reconsidered its options. In correspondence to the city, Walmart said it is "constantly reevaluating existing project sites and after a preliminary assessment, there is a possibility that this project could become active again."

The retailer said it was too early "to definitively state what will happen" at the Wildomar site, but an extension allows time to reevaluate the project. Without the added period, the retailer will sell the property, according to the correspondence.

It's not like the project would start from scratch if Walmart decided to reignite it. On Jan. 21, 2015, Wildomar City Council approved the development, including environmental reviews.

But just three months later, the city and Walmart were served with a lawsuit that stayed the project. The complaint alleged the proposed development violated the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws. The lawsuit was ultimately reviewed by the Supreme Court of California, which dismissed the case in March 2018.

Given the project delay, the retailer asked for a time extension to pull permits and is now asking for a second grace period that would take it out to March 22, 2025.

City staff believes the two-year extension is a reasonable request, city documents show.

Since the city's initial 2015 project approval, Walmart opened a Lake Elsinore Supercenter at 29260 Central Avenue in 2021 and shuttered its 31700 Grape Street location. Additionally, Walmart has stores in Murrieta and Temecula.

Wednesday night's Wildomar Planning Commission begins at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 23873 Clinton Keith Road, Suite 106. See the full meeting agenda here.