Court case holds up new tenant for Wal-Mart space

Wal-Mart officials have an offer for the vacant Wal-Mart building on Carson City's south end, but a court case is preventing them from accepting it, Amy Hill, spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said Tuesday

"We have someone very interested and we want to sell it," she said. "It's in our best interest, but our hands are tied."

Jerry Vaccaro said he signed an agreement with Wal-Mart Realty on Oct. 9, 2002, to buy the South Carson Street building vacated by the chain store when it moved to Douglas County.

He filed a complaint Feb. 4 in Carson District Court saying real estate broker Mike Giusti conspired with contractor Ron Weddell to break up his deal to purchase the former Wal-Mart store on South Carson Street.

In the complaint, Vaccaro claims he suffered damages in excess of $10,000 because of the conspiracy to break up his real estate deal. The lawsuit asks for damages, plus an order that Wal-Mart sell the property to him "pursuant to the terms of the original contract."

Hill said Wal-Mart officials consider the case "frivolous," but they have no idea when the issues will be resolved.

Wal-Mart real estate manager Jon Dunn said he could not reveal the name of the company interested in the property because the sale is not complete.

"All I can say is that it's a large investment group from outside the local area," said Larry Osborne, executive vice president of the Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Shelly Aldean of the Glenbrook Co. said the offer was taken to the Wal-Mart real estate committee last week and she expressed optimism about this new company purchasing the building.

"This company is in the real estate business and they have a proven track record," she said. "I'm encouraged by the breadth of their experience and their ability to bring in sales tax revenues."

In February 2001, Wal-Mart announced it would leave Carson City to relocate to Douglas County, moving just a mile from its Carson City locale across the county line on Aug. 14 of that year.

Carson City leaders made unsuccessful efforts -- including attempting to broker a deal with Raley's and offering several Carson City sites including the city's fairgrounds -- to retain the retail giant and its $1 million in sales tax revenues.

Wal-Mart decided to relocate its Carson City store after failing to negotiate an agreement with Raley's supermarket, which would have allowed it to expand. The company left behind an empty, 119,000-square-foot building near the northeast corner of Clearview Drive and South Carson Street.

Wal-Mart moved its store to Douglas County and took an estimated $1 million in sales tax revenue -- roughly 2.5 percent of Carson City's $40 million budget.