Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
A Wal-Mart official said work on the future site of the store, located west of Kmart on U.S. Highway 2, could begin in three to four weeks.
Company spokesman Gray McGinnis said Thursday that the construction process typically takes about 10 months.
He could not give a specific start date for work or provide a target opening date.
McGinnis said a contractor will be selected through a regional bidding process. The contractor could come from Montana or surrounding states, he added.
He said the contractor would determine how many local workers will be hired for the store's construction. Generally, the labor force numbers about 200 for a Wal-Mart store construction, he added.
An official with Henry Carlson Co., a Sioux Falls, S.D., contractor, said the company is bidding on the project and has built several other stores for large retailers. The official declined to identify himself or provide specific details about the Havre project.
In December, Wal-Mart purchased about 12 acres of land from local businessman Ron Harmon.
The world's largest retail chain plans to build a 105,000-square-foot supercenter on the site. The store will sell groceries, garden supplies, tires and provide oil and lube service.
Company officials have said the store will employ about 275 people, with about 60 percent working full time.
Some in Havre have said the store will bring shoppers into town from across the Hi-Line and retain consumers who drive to Great Falls to shop at a Wal-Mart there. Others have voiced concerns that the big-box store will drive out local businesses.
