Wal-Mart just paid a reported $909,585 for a piece of property adjacent to its store on Bethel Rd. in Port Orchard. The company refuses to divulge what plans it has for the property.

There’s a reason why the number one retailer on the planet paid a reported $909,585 for 8.1 acres of vacant land adjacent to its Bethel Road store at the beginning of this year. However, for the time being, it will remain a secret. Wal-Mart has zipped its lip, and has yet to approach the county with any plans for the site.

Could it be a Sam’s Club, which is a Costco-like wholesale chain the firm owns? Or will the company be expanding its Port Orchard store into one of its new Supercenters, which is much like the Fred Meyer concept of something for every shopper under one roof?

Wal-Mart is aggressively expanding the Supercenter concept. Currently the chain operates more than 780 of them with another 165 expected to be up and running by the end of this year. Along with its normal general merchandise department store, Supercenters, which average between 100,000 and 210,000 square feet, carry a full line of groceries, include a bakery and deli, and usually have a gas station as well — all utilizing the company’s “everyday low price” marketing strategy.

The retail giant obviously has something big planned for South Kitsap, but is absolutely mum on what. Wal-Mart bought the property from a Bainbridge Island firm, Central Investments Retail Services, which held it since 1985. That firm reportedly paid $145,000 for the land which is currently assessed at $588,000. However, the valuation was set prior to a sewer line being installed along Bethel.

A non-committal Amy Hill, spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said she wasn’t aware of any immediate plans for the Bethel site, but added that she had not spoken directly with Wal-Mart’s local real estate people either. She did say it was not unusual for Wal-Mart to spend close to $1 million on land it won’t use right away, but admitted the move wasn’t exactly standard operating procedure.

Speculation about major commercial projects in South Kitsap has become something of a local sport, with rumors flying about Home Depot, Costco and other big box retailers locating there. Fueling those rumors is a theory that the already intolerable and ever increasing traffic congestion at the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, coupled with the inevitable delays construction of a second bridge will bring — not to mention tolls on the new span — will alter the shopping patterns of Pierce County residents on this side of the Narrows forever. It will be much easier for them to come to South Kitsap than deal with those issues on a daily basis.

Although plans for a 56 acre shopping center that may include an Albertson’s, are on the board for a freeway site near the Purdy correctional center, it could be years before any dirt is actually moved. Gig Harbor rejected Wal-Mart in a much publicized public confrontation with the discounter several years ago, and most other major retailers have declined to follow in those footsteps. Similar opposition could arise to any new retail proposal.

Supporting the bridge theory is the fact the area surrounding the Highway 16, Sedgwick Road interchange has seen a fair amount of commercial growth as has the Bethel corridor. The rumors center around the intersection of Sedgwick and Sidney Roads, where Albertson’s recently opened a new store and gas station. But a Guesthouse Hotel, Shari’s Restaurant, McDonald’s, Columbia Bank, a gas station/mini-mart/car wash and a manufactured home dealer have all situated on property directly adjacent to the freeway.

Meanwhile, Fred Meyer opened a few months ago just down the street from Wal-Mart at Bethel and Sedgwick, and office supply retailers Staples and Office Depot have opened this year adjacent to Wal-Mart and across the street from each other at Bethel and Lund. Rite Aid, and now Walgreen’s are also competing at that same corner. None of those retailers have located between South Kitsap and the Narrows Bridge.

That leaves Gig Harbor residents two choices — fight the bridge mess or come to South Kitsap. The closest Costco for example, which is building a new, much larger Tacoma store almost within sight of the current one built less than 10 years ago, is near 38th Street and I-5 — or in Silverdale. The nearest Home Depot is in South Tacoma near 72nd Street and I-5 — or in Silverdale, although Eagle Hardware has an outlet near Highway 16 and 19th Street in Fircrest. The nearest Rite Aid is across the bridge at 21st and Pearl, the nearest Office Depot at Highway 16 and Union Avenue and the closest Fred Meyer’s are on 19th and Stevens or Bridgeport and 67th. That makes the trip to South Kitsap look pretty good to Gig Harbor shoppers.

A Port Orchard Wal-Mart Supercenter will have its work cut out distinguishing itself from the existing slew of established supermarkets. There are already half a dozen grocery stores in South Kitsap, including the new Fred Meyer, and Albertson’s, which is also in the process of adding another 15,500 sq. ft. to its other Port Orchard store at Mile Hill Drive and Olney Road. At that same intersection, the Port Orchard Thriftway just across the street has developed a loyal following by modeling itself after the popular Queen Anne Thriftway in Tacoma. Safeway at Bethel and Lund underwent a major expansion last year and just up the hill, the aging South Park Shopping Center is slated for a major facelift, although QFC, which is owned by Fred Meyer, is mum on any expansion plans for its store there. There has been local speculation that store may close.

South Kitsap real estate developer Dick Brown, owner of Kitsap Commercial Group, said he wasn’t at all surprised Wal-Mart isn’t releasing information concerning its plans for the site. He said it’s normal for any major retailer to be discreet because land acquisitions might not be complete and a public announcement would drive up the price of any additional property that might be required. He also said negative public sentiment towards a project — or a specific retailer — could scuttle any project before it got off the ground.

More than a dozen homes along Bethel Road sport “for sale” signs — many of them Brown’s — noting the property is suitable for commercial development. Brown also controls a good deal of the property surrounding the Sedgwick and Sidney intersection, although he has been wrestling with the county for the past several years over zoning issues.

“Sedgwick and Sidney needs to be brought into the Urban Growth Area and annexed by the City of Port Orchard,” said, Brown. He also said that some of that property is ideally suited for non-retail commercial use once the zoning issues are reconciled.

“There are 140 acres that could be developed around that intersection,” he said. “There are local people that want to build a business park that will bring family wage jobs here. We just need to county to cooperate.”

But for Wal-Mart, or any other retailer planning on locating along the Bethel corridor, having enough land, proper zoning and complying with environmental restrictions won’t be the only obstacles to development. The county commissioners are set to adopt the “Bethel Corridor Design Standards,” which are the result of an exhaustive public input process. They include restrictions that would directly impact the architectural style most big box retailers employ and require architectural features to have characteristics that reflect Northwest themes.

However Wal-Mart representatives insist it’s simply too soon for them to even begin to concern themselves with worrying about wood siding or Northwest themes — much too soon.