FORT WORTH - The flier that went out recently tells residents the choice is easy.
On one side, a drawing of the proposed Walmart Neigborhood Market. On the other, a picture of the current building that sits along Berry Street and Hemphill in Fort Worth.
But that's not the way Fernando Flores and others see it.
Here is Goliath, Flores said. The giant. The big bad giant, coming out here trying to steamroll us into accepting what they want.
Flores is among the residents who've been fighting the proposed development, because it doesn't fit with the master plan for a pedestrian-friendly urban village in the area.
Under the proposed plan, a plot of land would be space for parking, which Flores doesn't think is necessary.
Walmart just wants more parking, Flores said. We said no. We don't want more parking there.
Instead, they want it saved for a business to go up along one of the main corridors through the area. Flores envisions a placement similar the bookstore along Berry Street at TCU.
David Salas lives right across the street from the proposed store, and said whether or not it fits the urban village plan is secondary.
We need the Walmart, Salas said. It will be a great thing for the neigborhood, people need jobs.
Most opponents agree a store is needed, but not at the expense of the vision they have for the area once overrun by crime, and now the target for new growth.
E-mail mmoore@wfaa.com
