After three long years, there's a sign of progress for a possible Walmart store in Rock Island. This morning, Mayor Dennis Pauley announced Walmart has signed a contract to buy the Watchtower Plaza site on 11th Street.
Pauley says Walmart bought the 23-acres for 4.5-million-dollars. And, he estimates the store will bring in 1.4-million-dollars of sales tax revenue to the city each year, and will add 400 jobs.
Rock Island has been working for over two years to clear the site, which involved relocating a Black Hawk College building, State Farm Insurance, and other businesses.
Pauley says the contract is just for buying the land, and does not require Walmart to build on the site. It also doesn't specify whether the store will be a Walmart Supercenter, but he thinks it will be.
On Monday night, alderman will vote on final approval for the contract. Pauley was adamant about not giving a timeline for the project, saying he's taking it "one step at a time."