Walmart pulls plans for building Supercenter in Monroe

Nearly four years after it was first announced, the planned Walmart Supercenter in Monroe is a no-go.

Although the retailer has decided not to proceed with construction of what was supposed to be a 150,000-square-foot Walmart ”“ the only such superstore in Fairfield County ”“ in a statement it said: “We remain very grateful for the support and professionalism of Monroe public officials while we worked through the development process and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our existing local stores and online at Walmart.com.”

The company has about 40 stores in the state, with Fairfield County locations including Danbury, Fairfield, Greenwich, Norwalk, Shelton, Stamford and Stratford.

Discussions about building a Walmart on the southeast corner of Victoria Drive and Route 25 in Monroe began in 2014, and as late as this summer developer Kimball Land Holdings LLC said it believed groundbreaking was imminent.

But the project had faced loud opposition by some residents and Tim Herbst, the first selectman of nearby Trumbull, citing concerns about traffic and threats to businesses.

“We are disappointed with the decision knowing how hard both parties have worked to obtain all the necessary approvals and permits,” Kimball said, thanking local officials for their input.

In September, Walmart also canceled plans for a Supercenter in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, again citing unspecified “business factors.”