Would-Be Walmart Behind Land Grab?

Where is Wal-Mart Stores Inc. going to build next?

That’s always hard to predict, but the retail giant has a new piece of land in its own backyard.

According to public records, 15.79 acres of an undeveloped wooded area between Washington Junior High School and Central Avenue in Bentonville was sold for $3.2 million. A deed dated March 20 conveyed the land to Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust.

Troy J. Link Enterprises LLC, a limited liability company in Minong, Wis., was the seller.

In the midst of the wooded property, there is a boarded-up, dilapidated home of about 2,000 SF built in the mid-1970s. The dwelling likely is the reason the land’s 2011 tax appraisal of $142,900 was significantly lower than the selling price.

Whispers asked Wal-Mart about the purchase, and got this boilerplate email reply: “While we don’t have any new projects to announce, we are always evaluating local opportunities that would give customers more convenient access to low prices.”

Whispers’ most trusted Bentonville sources couldn’t or wouldn’t divulge anything more substantial, either. The site’s proximity to the downtown square and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, however, seem to make for some interesting development possibilities.