Gentilly Woods revamped by big chain retailer

The Gentilly Woods Shopping Center lies in one of the busiest locations in New Orleans East. It has once been occupied by several national chain retailers such as Foot Locker, Anna Linens, RadioShack and Rainbow just to name a few. With the shopping center positioned in such a prime location there has been several investors who have tried to bid on the property but lost to NORA’s bid of $4.2 million. Since NORA bought the property, the government officials have been in the talks of a condominium, national retail chains and a grocer. The decision became final on July 20, 2011 when Wal-Mart was approved for the bid. Wal-Mart’s move into the location is considered detrimental to many residents residing in the city as such a move will put other local chains out of business. There are however, positive aspects to the move since the government restrictions on it will make the area look more environmentally friendly and the sales tax will allow for redevelopments in other parts of the area. It is still a controversial debate for many in the area but the move will allow citizens’ access to a Wal-Mart which isn’t 30 minutes away. Disagreements are bound to arise over this decision, but a developed area is better than an empty building which is prone to fires as it has occurred months ago.