Plans for Citrus Heights Walmart remodel, expansion submitted to city

By Sara Beth Williams–
An application for a remodeling and expansion project at the Walmart store on Auburn Boulevard has been submitted to the city for approval, according to the city’s website.

In an Oct. 14 update, the city’s website shows a submitted application for a remodel project at Walmart at 7010 Auburn Boulevard that would include exterior updates, an expansion for the online grocery pickup area, and updating and expansion of online grocery pickup parking stalls.

Submitted documents show the expansion of the main building with a new addition near the current Garden Center. The proposed new addition on the south side of the building will expand the area for online grocery pickup and add roughly 3,000 square feet, plans show.

The extra space will serve as a stockroom for employees to prepare customer orders, which will be delivered to parking spots outside. Plans indicate that the current online grocery pickup storage area will be removed to make way for the new addition.

All exterior paint will match existing neutral brown tones, and new safety barriers will match existing ones. Design renderings show that the new addition of the building will include three curved metal awnings and four decorative columns on the front. These will match the current building design and be painted in the existing Terra Cotta color, documents state.

Additionally, online order pickup parking spaces will be re-striped to meet brand standards. Several regular parking spots will be converted to online grocery pickup spaces, increasing the total pickup spots to 39. Documents from the applicant state that the overall distribution of regular and accessible parking spaces won’t change.

Plans also include the addition of several safety features, including new crosswalk markings that will be added near the new building addition to “safely manage the movement” of both employees and vehicles through the area. Further, site plans call for power washing of the sidewalk in front of the building and on the side of the new online grocery pickup area. Other updates and repairs to the exterior are also noted in the site plans.

Currently, a design permit for a new Starbucks in the same shopping center submitted on May 28 is also still under review by the city.

The proposed Starbucks would be located in the Stock Ranch Plaza, across from Walmart, on an undeveloped parcel facing Auburn Boulevard. Designs show the planned construction of a proposed 2,308-square-foot building with a drive-thru lane wrapping around the back.

The Stock Ranch plan, approved in February 2001, provides for the development of 570,000 square feet of commercial areas as well as over 43 acres for residential development and 32 acres of open space, according to the city’s website. Development of the plaza began with construction of the Costco building in 2003 and Walmart in 2005.