When Will Wildomar's Walmart Begin Construction?

WILDOMAR, CA —Wildomar's Planning Commission was expected to grant a final one-year extension for the Walmart Retail Project at this week's meeting, according to the agenda's consent calendar.

The project to build the 185,682-square-foot Walmart store has been in the works since January 2015, when the City of Wildomar's City Council first approved the project. Extensive site plans and building schematics have been created. However, according to a Planning Department report offered by Matthew Bassi, Walmart has yet to pull grading and building permits toward building out the 22-acre site at Bundy Canyon Road and Monte Vista.

The final year's extension would give them time to do that.

This week, the Planning Department recommended that the third extension for the Walmart project be approved, asking that the commission adopt a resolution saying the site at Bundy Canyon Road and Monte Vista does not require any additional environmental review. This would extend the third and final extension until March 22, 2026.

In correspondence to the city, Walmart said it is "constantly reevaluating existing project sites, and after a preliminary assessment, there is a possibility that this project could become active again." A similar letter was received at the 2023 extension.

The retailer said it was too early "to definitively state what will happen" at the Wildomar site, but an extension would allow time to reevaluate the project. According to the correspondence, the retailer will sell the property without the extension period.

Little has changed since the project's original city council approval, and according to Bassi's report, the proceeding steps would be straightforward.

In 2018, the Supreme Court of California dismissed a lawsuit alleging violations of the California Environmental Quality Act. Wednesday's extension would indicate that an additional environmental review is not required for the project.

Walmart submitted its third extension request on Dec. 16, 2024, well before the March 22, 2025 expiration date.

The retail giant's justification letter states that without an extension, it was "highly unlikely they would go through the time and expense to entitle the site. Their only options would be to hold onto the property for the foreseeable future, or ultimately sell the property."

Given the project delay, Walmart has asked for this final time extension to pull permits and is now asking for a second grace period that could push the project start date until March 22, 2026, at the latest.

City staff believes the one-year extension is a reasonable, albeit a final request, city documents show.

Since the city's initial 2015 project approval, Walmart opened a Lake Elsinore Supercenter at 29260 Central Avenue in 2021 and shuttered its 31700 Grape Street location.

Additionally, Walmart has stores in Murrieta and Temecula.

Wednesday night's Wildomar Planning Commission begins at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 23873 Clinton Keith Road, Suite 106. See the full meeting agenda here.