The landowners think they have a good chance at the rezoning because nine acres next to their property—which are owned by a separate landowner—are already zoned for commercial use. Johnson and Harber are asking the Henry County citizen planning commission for a green light before the request gets reviewed by the full county commission at a later date.

Wal-Mart needs the Johnson-Harber property to do the 34-acre deal for a new 235,000-sf superstore, brokers tell GlobeSt.com. The retailer plans a second superstore off Interstate 75 near Eagle's Landing in Stockbridge, GA where there is an existing Wal-Mart store.

There is also a superstore in nearby McDonough, GA. Another Wal-Mart in Morrow, GA in Clayton County is about five miles from the proposed 34-acre store site. And still another Wal-Mart in Riverdale, GA is 12 miles away.

"Wal-Mart wants the Anvil Block Road site because that's the newest retail hot spot in that submarket," a local retail broker who may be working on the deal tells GlobeSt.com.

Another factor in the retailer's plans is the planned, 400-acre mixed-use Villages of Ellenwood, about a mile from the proposed new Wal-Mart site in Henry County. Villages of Ellenwood would have one million sf of retail and 1,000 single-family home and townhomes. The Clayton County commission expects to vote on the Villages of Ellenwood rezoning request later this week.

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Wal-Mart Deal Hinges on Rezoning Decision

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