One Walmart closed, but the shopping won’t stop with the opening of a new store Friday.
On Thursday, the Walmart located on 2649 NW 13th St., which first opened in 1983, closed while a new store, located at 5700 NW 23rd St., opened its doors early this morning.
Walmart spokesman Bill Wertz said the company decided to relocate and expand the new store to meet customer demands.
“This way they can have a grocery store along with general merchandise, so they can do all of their shopping in one place,” he said.
Laura D’Spain, spokeswoman for Mitchell Communications Group, which represents Walmart, said the new store will have about 300 employees.
She said employees from the old Northwest 13th Street store can transfer to the new location. She said the new store will hire 70 new employees.
A grand opening for the store will begin at 7:30 a.m. The new location will have a Subway restaurant as well as a nail and hair salon.
“We really like to make our stores as convenient as possible,” Wertz said.
Along with the store opening, Regional Transit System will also open its first official Park-N-Ride facility on the store’s parking lot Monday.
Students and residents will have the option of leaving their car in the parking lot and taking bus Route 8 to UF or Shands at UF, said RTS spokesman Chip Skinner.
Skinner said 43 parking spots will be available for use.
“This is a great benefit for commuters, especially those right outside of Gainesville who work at UF or Shands because they can save money and save the time spent looking for a parking space,” he said in a statement. “This also benefits Walmart because when they come back to pick up their car, they are likely to stop inside and purchase whatever they might need.”
Walmart Super Center, 5700 NW 23rd St., will open today. The old Walmart, located off Northwest 13th Street, closed Thursday.
