An aerial view of the Weaverville Lowe’s (bottom right corner) and Wal-Mart, taken by Asheville photographer Zen Sutherland. I’ve always thought these stores were big, but seen from above they look downright massive.
Check out more of Zen’s great photos of Asheville and WNC from the air here.

The day some have anxiously awaited and others have dreaded arrives Wednesday when Walmart opens its doors in Northridge Commons.  The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 7:30 a.m., and customers can start shopping at 8 a.m. The day will feature appearances by Rick the Robot, vendor demonstrations, food samples, and all kinds of specials throughout the store.  They’ll also have more demonstrations and samples this weekend.  Store hours are endless – they’re open 24/7 364 days a year (closed only on Christmas).  The store also includes a SmartStyle Family Hair Salon, Subway, and a branch of Woodforest National Bank. The store number is 4334 and their phone number is 645-5028.

I had the chance last night to see the new store, and it’s a drastic change from the old model.  The new design features wider aisles, brighter colors, lower shelving, and a new layout. Their press release also touts the environmentally friendly features, including low-flow toilets and faucets, LED lighting throughout the store, and the use of recycled materials in the store’s concrete floors. They have also awarded grants to 5 local organizations – $2500 each to the Weaverville Fire Department, Weaverville Police Department, Hospice of Madison County, and North Buncombe High School, and $3000 to the Weaverville Senior Meal Center.

Lowe’s opens its doors to the public tomorrow at 6 a.m. Regular store hours will be Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. I don’t have a copy of the store layout map yet, but it’s similar to the South Asheville store. Their phone number is 782-9020.

Some events coming up next week:
Wednesday, May 27: Community Preview Night. From 4-8 p.m. they’ll be giving away gift bags with 6-in-1 Kobalt screwdrivers, Lowe’s key chains, magnets, pen holders, and notepads.

Thursday, May 28: Official Grand Opening. Gift Card Match Day — Buy a gift card, and Lowe’s will match your purchase with a donation to the Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, up to $5,000.

Saturday, May 30: Free Build a Birdhouse kids’ clinic at 10 a.m.

Lowe’s issued a press release today with opening information for the Weaverville store:

Friday, May 22, 2009

• 7 a.m., Lowe’s will open its doors to the public

Thursday, May 28, 2009

• 10 a.m. – Grand Opening festivities including Lowe’s Board Cutting ceremony
• Gift Card Match Day- Buy a Gift Card, Help Build a Home. Purchase a Lowe’s Gift Card on Thursday, May 28, and Lowe’s will match purchases up to $5,000 to support Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s next building project.

ABOUT THE STORE:
The home improvement store has 117,000 square feet of retail sales space, with an adjacent garden center, stocking 40,000 different items to help customers build, improve and beautify their homes.  A store of this size represents an average investment in the community of approximately $18.5 million and creates up to 175 new jobs.

This is the question I get asked the most: when are Wal-Mart and Lowe’s going to open in Weaverville?  For Wal-Mart, I’ve heard June 17 bandied about for a few weeks now, and this week’s edition of the Weaverville Tribune confirms that June 17 is indeed the opening date for the supercenter.  Hiring is currently in process.

No set date yet for Lowe’s, but the Tribune reports it is expected to open later this month.

This week’s Tribune is on newstands now.  The Wal-Mart article is on page 21.

Here’s a video update showing the progress at the Northridge Commons shopping center, courtesy of AskAsheville:

A quick update about what’s happening at Northridge Commons.  I know there are rumors going around about other restaurants signing on as tenants, but thus far I’ve still only heard confirmation about the following three stores.  None have announced official opening dates:

Lowes
The Weaverville Tribune is reporting Lowe’s expects to open its doors in late April.  Applications are now being accepted in a hiring office they have set up in the old fire department (South Main Street, next to Town Hall).  If you’re interested in applying, stop by between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Wal-Mart
Chris from Wal-Mart’s Public Affairs tells me they expect to open in mid-May, though a firm date has not yet been set.  No word on when they’ll open the hiring office.  I’ll touch base with him again next month for the latest news.

ABC Store
The ABC Store is being planned as part of a larger building located in Northridge Commons (on the 25/70 side).  Considering there’s not even a building yet, it’s hard to speculate when they might open, much less start hiring.

New stoplights are going up at the 25/70 entrance for the Northridge Commons shopping center. This seems awfully close to the already existing stoplights at the Monticello Road and 25/70 intersection. Hopefully they’ll have both sets of lights timed correctly to keep the stop and go traffic going more than stopping.

AskAsheville took this close-up video of the new Lowe’s and Wal-Mart buildings in the Northridge Commons development. There’s still no official word on when the stores will be opening, though I’ve heard Lowe’s may open in March and Wal-Mart in May.

The wall’s are going up quickly for the new Lowe’s store. This photo was taken yesterday (September 9). Rumors have started swirling that they’re going to be opening by Christmas or the first of the year, but official word is still a Spring 2009 opening.  More photos of the Northridge Commons project are available to view here.

I haven’t posted an update on Northridge Commons for awhile, mainly because until recently all I could really say was they’re pushing dirt around. Now, however, they’ve started putting up walls for Wal-Mart, as seen in this photo. It was taken on August 24 from the road behind the store (off Monticello Road). Opening date for both Wal-Mart and Lowe’s is still scheduled for Spring 2009.

Also, in response to requests, I’ve started a Northridge Commons photo page on my Flickr account. There’s only a few pictures there now but I’ll keep it updated as work progresses. A big thanks to Daniel for sending me photos he’s taken as well.

Road construction at Monticello Road for Northridge Commons. According to the DOT website there will be construction on both Monticello Road and 25/70 for “an entrance to the new business at the corner of US 25/70 and Monticello Road (SR 1727). The construction will involve constructing an access for the business on Monticello Road (SR 1727) and Turn Lanes on US 25/70 and Monticello. Motorists can expect delays intermittently during the turn lane and entrance construction.” End date for the construction is listed as October 1, 2008.

I’m told the Weaverville Tribune has an article coming up in the next issue about the construction, so look for that on Thursday for more details.

Lowe’s announced yesterday it will delay the opening of about 20 new stores this year in hard-hit housing markets. No doubt this will fuel even more rumors about the Northridge Commons development, but according to this item in today’s Citizen-Times, Lowe’s spokeswoman Karen Cobb says plans for the Weaverville Lowe’s are unaffected.

I’ve had a few inquiries lately about what’s happening with Northridge Commons. The latest issue of the Weaverville Tribune has a front page article talking about that very thing, so if you’re curious about the details be sure to pick up a copy. The basics are this:

• Spring 2009 is the scheduled opening date.
• Both Wal-Mart and Lowe’s are still coming.
• Construction has slowed because they have to wait for Progress Energy to move power lines.

Often called the Wal-Mart development, the Northridge Commons Shopping Center is scheduled for completion in Spring of 2009, according to a billboard on 19-23/I-26 and the developers’ website. Thus far, Super Wal-Mart and Lowe’s are the only tenants listed for the development. For more information and to keep track of new tenants, here’s the property sheet for the center: http://www.carolina-group.com/propertyDetails.cfm?id=10. I did contact the developers last week to ask if the tenant list was going to be kept current on the website, but I have not yet received any reply.

Lowe’s recently released a press release about their new Weaverville location: http://lowes.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=1550

One last thing. There’s a rumour going around that Lowe’s is actually owned by Wal-Mart. I’ve found nothing whatsoever, online or off, to substantiate this. If someone has inside information I’ll be glad to pass it along, but it looks like the only thing these two companies have in common is their company colors.