The nation's largest retailer purchased the land at the southwest corner of 79th Avenue and Peoria from TPI Land Partnership III for slightly more than $1.2 million. Wal-Mart was represented by RED Realty Advisors. Sharon Reeves of NAI Horizon bargained on the seller's behalf.

The location to be used as a Wal-Mart supercenter will be the chain's 11th store in the metropolitan Phoenix market. Construction and opening dates were not announced.The land acquisition news came a week after the City of Chandler rejected its second supercenter plan in two years. The stumbling block between the city and developer is a requirement that big boxes be positioned 1,500 feet or more from homes. Wal-Mart, though, has a second Chandler site in its pocket for a 203,000-sf project so the battle is sure to continue.

In a press release, Wal-Mart executives said the Phoenix supercenter plan "represents a continued acceleration of supercenter unit expansion and reflects the strong consumer acceptance and financial results from the format." Wal-Mart's 2004 fiscal year began Feb. 1. The retailer's planned growth for the coming year represents approximately 48 million sf of new space and represents more than an 8% increase over the total built in the 2003 fiscal year, the company said. As of the beginning of the year, the company had 1,603 Wal-Mart stores, 1,179 supercenters, 517 Sam's Clubs and 36 Neighborhood Markets in the United States.