Wal-mart plans to build 8 stores in the Bay Area

Wal-Mart's ambitious plans for the Bay Area include eight new stores in as many cities, but its equally motivated opponents are determined to stave off the expansion plans of the world's largest company.

The giant retailer is forging ahead on four regular Wal-Mart stores ranging from 140,000 square feet to 170,000 square feet in Richmond, Hercules, Fremont and San Jose, and has already broken ground on a 148,378-square-foot store in Oakland.

Meanwhile, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in various stages of planning on three regional Supercenters, the more than 200,000-square-foot grocery-serving stores that have ratcheted up the debate on Wal-Mart. The company is holding discussions to expand its store in Antioch, is performing environmental work on a new store in Tracy, and has secured city approval for a Gilroy Supercenter. And Wal-Mart is "looking for opportunities" for additional Supercenters in Contra Costa County, said spokeswoman Amy Hill.

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