ST. ALBANS, Vt. -
Talk of building a Walmart in St. Albans has been going on for years - but now construction is just days away. The discount store is slated to bring hundreds of jobs to the area.
Whether you're for or against the big box store coming to Vermont, unemployment numbers are improving and this new business will only continue to help.
"Its been a long time coming," St. Albans Town Manager Gerry Myers said.
Conversations about building a Walmart in St. Albans have been going on for two decades now. But in just about ten days, there will be an official groundbreaking for the big box store.
"13 months from now there should be a Walmart here and we should be able to go shopping," Myers said.
The empty lot will be transformed, greenery, parking, and a home for bargain shoppers will appear.
"It's going to be on a pretty fast train after they get started here," The Town Manager said.
And once it's done, positions will need to be filled. Myers says the store will create more than 250 full time jobs.
"There's warehousing, there's going to be truck driving. There's going to be a lot of other jobs that come with this," Myers said.
The plan is to have a job fair next August and hire a lot of people in a short period of time.
"There will be lots of management jobs, there's going to be nighttime supervisors, janitorial, it goes across the gamut," said Myers.
So not only will the Walmart bring jobs after it's built, but a local contracting company from Burlington has been hired to do the work.
It hasn't been announced yet, but with the growth in the area, Myers says other businesses should also pop up nearby.
"We're seeing lots of people coming in and talking about water and sewer allocations," he said.
So with more businesses and good, secure jobs coming to the area, unemployment numbers could continue to improve. Vermont has the fifth lowest unemployment rate in the nation, the national average is at 8.1%, Vermont is at 5% and the St. Albans area is at 5.6%.
The store is on schedule to be open by October 2013. We will of course let you know when the job fairs will be held.
