Although there seems to be some debate about what spurred the county to withdraw from negotiations about buying the old Wal-Mart property on Wilson Road, it sounds like it may have been the right move for everyone. And refreshingly, County Council seems to be taking time to look at the options, inspect them and make a considered decision.

Over the years, this particular property has come up in discussions over housing services from the public library to chemotherapy. But no matter how you divide it, there is a reason it is called a “big box” retail space. It is relatively huge. In comparison to the condemned Sheriff's Office on Highway 219, the Wilson Road property was cavernous. This meant that the county would either have to make use of all that space, or probably make concessions about the future use of what was purchased in order to keep development for the rest of the shopping center viable. Be real, who wants to pop into a store to pick up a new TV, or mattress, or dance costume when officers are strolling potential “perps” across the parking lot next to you in for questioning. The flip side of that consideration is whether it would be responsible on the county's part to purchase property that doesn't necessarily fit the needs-and locks you into certain uses in perpetuity.

The parking lot was enticing, with space around the side for an impound lot. However, the county had found there would be a lot of work involved inside the building to put in the electrical and technological infrastructure needed for office spaces versus sales floors. Plus, the warehouse-style interior construction would have needed modification, like dropped ceilings and reworked ventilation systems, to make heating, cooling and lighting the divided up space realistic. It would not have been an easy move.

So although we hate that the space still sits empty on Wilson Road, we are hopeful that a better fit will come along-for both the shopping center, and the county.