By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | July 30, 2009
Workers from EMJ Corporation in Sacramento do demolition work on an old bank building at the intersection of North Texas Street and Atlantic Avenue Thursday. The demolition is part of the Walmart project being developed at the old Mission Village Shopping Center. Photo by Brad Zweerink
FAIRFIELD - Thirty-one months after getting clearance for a new store, Walmart has started demolishing the old Mission Village Shopping Center.
As of Wednesday, work crews had begun removing the siding and wall insulation from a stand-alone bank building near the corner of Atlantic Avenue and North Texas Street.
Walmart officials didn't return calls seeking comment Thursday, so it isn't clear how long the project will take to complete.
Walmart's plan involves razing the shopping center, which has been largely abandoned for years. It would be replaced with a 185,000-square-foot supercenter and 1,100 parking spaces. The Liberty Christian Center church, which owns and uses one of the buildings along Atlantic Avenue, would stay.
The Fairfield City Council approved the plans for the shopping center in December 2006. At the time, company officials predicted doors could be open within a year.
It was initially held up by a need to revise certain parking restrictions, and then again by an environmental lawsuit. In July 2008, the company submitted building plans for the store.
Fairfield issued the retailer a building permit March 31, which covers both the demolition and construction phases, building official Tom Garcia said.
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