Wal-Mart Plans to Expand St. Charles Store to Supercenter

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is planning to expand its St. Charles store on Veterans Memorial Parkway into a "supercenter."

The company plans to add an additional 57,012 square feet to the existing 134,410 square foot building, which will make it one of the largest supercenters in the state, according to store manager Jeff Hines. 

Of the 20 Walmart stores in the St. Louis area, 18 are supercenters. The St. Charles location and the Cahokia, IL store are currently the only traditional Walmart stores in the region.

Four retail shops in the adjacent strip mall between Walmart and Sam's Club will be demolished. Those shops include Dots, Payless, Sports Clips and Fashion Bug, said Director of Community Development Bruce Evans.

The four other shops in the strip mall will remain. 

Two entry vestibules in the front of the building will be added including one for the grocery section of the store. 

The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the site plan for the expansion on Nov. 26. 

At the request of Wal-Mart, Inc., St. Charles City Council members may consider amending the city noise laws to allow businesses to run a trash compactor between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. in an enclosed building. 

Wal-Mart is planning to enclose the trash compactor in a small hut made with noise-reducing materials, Evans said. Current city laws prohibit any trash compactors from being run between those hours. 

Jeff Hines, manager of the store, said the store will draw between 10,000 and 12,000 customers each day.

He said it's necessary to run the trash compactor overnight just to keep up with the customer trash and trash from truckloads of products that are delivered each evening. 

Wal-Mart Stores did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the demolition of adjacent shops or a timeline for new construction.