PORT ANGELES — The Walmart Supercenter in eastern Port Angeles will hold a grand opening celebration at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 27.
The event will include a ribbon-cutting, as well as representatives of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from the district and region, said Shauna Gentry, department manager.
The event will begin a half-hour after the store’s official opening at 7 a.m., she said.
“We want everyone to come,” she said. “We’ll try and keep the ceremony to less than 45 minutes.”
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is replacing its current store with a larger “Supercenter” — including a supermarket — across the highway at 3471 E. Kolonels Way.
The older store will close the night before.
After the new store opens Oct. 27, Wal-Mart hopes to sell its old store and the 19-acre lot at 3500 E. U.S. Highway 101.
350 employees
The new store will have up to 350 employees, including current workers who will transfer across the street, plus 85 new hires, Wal-Mart said.
Boise, Idaho-based Engineered Structures Inc. is the general contractor for the $14 million project, which is in unincorporated Clallam County territory.
Construction of the exterior of the building is nearly complete.
Construction of the supercenter, which was built on the 19.8-acre site of a Kmart that closed in early 1998, began last December.
Built in 1996, the existing Port Angeles Walmart building and its lot were assessed at $7.46 million last year.
The city of Port Angeles and Clallam County have agreed to split any increase in sales tax revenue from the Walmart Supercenter once it’s up and running.
Walmart employs more than 2.1 million worldwide.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.