New store plans to open in 2027
Staff report
This past Tuesday, Sept. 24, Walmart told the Town of Rutland Select Board that plans will be submitted to relocate the existing Walmart store at 90 Shopping Plaza Road in Rutland City to the site of the former Diamond Run Mall, south of the city just off Route 7.
The new store will be a Supercenter, offering groceries (with produce and meats), a bakery, a deli, a drive through pharmacy and 45 spaces for online pickup, auto care, and eye care to its offerings in Rutland.
The new 170,995 square foot store is expected to create an additional 100 full- and part-time jobs, while also keeping all existing jobs from the current location, according to the news release. The project will also create 100-150 construction jobs through the relocation project.
“We look forward to the opportunity to grow in Rutland,” said Chris Buchanan, Walmart’s director of government affairs and state and local government relations. “This new location will allow us to bring hundreds of daily grocery items to residents, while strengthening our commitment to local nonprofits and community members who frequent our store. We’ll create more jobs, pay more in local revenue and continue engaging with the local community.”
Walmart hopes to immediately begin the approval process set out by Act 250 in Vermont and plans to open the new store in 2027.
The new location will be the fourth Supercenter and sixth total store in Vermont. Across the six locations, Walmart has more than 1,500 associates in Vermont, where full-time, hourly associates make an average hourly wage of $19.15.
The Diamond Run Mall is being redeveloped by A2Z Realty Inc. led by its co-founder and CEO Joe Anthony.
“I have worked with Joe and his team for many years on this project and we look forward to working alongside the developer to bring this project into reality,” stated Lyle Jepson, executive director at the Chamber & Economic Development of the Rutland Region.
Walmart stated that it will continue to communicate with the local community about the approval process for relocation.
A short history of the mall’s 24 years
The Diamond Run Mall (1995-2019) was first conceived of in 1986 by developer Damian Zamias who purchased an option on the 92 acres. But it would be nearly a decade later before the mall opened. After permitting delays and a recession he actually bought the property in 1993 and broke ground in ‘94. The Diamond Run Mall opened the following year.
Gemini Real Estate Advisors bought the mall for $53 million in 2007, but ended up surrendering it to its mortgage-holder in 2013, which then resold it to Zamias and an Israeli investment firm for $4.3 million.
It continued to operate (albeit at a loss) until October 2019. It has been vacant since.
Now, five years later, there will be new life in that location — if not for much of the building itself, which will be torn down.
