Walmart Building Portland's Largest Ecoroof, But Still Has Enemies in City Hall

Willamette Week ^ | 30 Aug 2012 | Aaron Mesh

[smokingfrog]

A story in this week's WW shows Portland officials—including Mayor Sam Adams and both mayoral candidates—scaling back the city's anti-Walmart stance as the shopping giant's mobile-software division, WalmartLabs, moves into a downtown office.

But Walmart is also making concessions to Portland culture.

As reported in the Daily Journal of Commerce on Monday, the new Walmart breaking ground on Hayden Meadows in North Portland, will boast the city's largest ecoroof.

"We recognize that being an efficient business and a good steward of the environment are not mutually exclusive," Walmart spokeswoman Rachel Wall tells WW. "Walmart has worked with the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services on the design of the ecoroof throughout the project."

The 40,600 square foot ecoroof, covered in a "perennial plant sedum" and taller plants along the edges, will be visible from Interstate 5. It's the company's second plant-covered roof.

"Walmart has one other store with an EcoRoof, in Chicago," Wall says. "The project in Chicago allows us to test the performance of the innovative system in a cold, harsh winter weather environment. The new store in Portland provided us an opportunity to design and build an EcoRoof in a moderate climate."

But Walmart may still face a chilly reception from City Hall.

[smokingfrog]

Video of nutty protesters at link.

Unions and occu-poopers don't like Walmart. Who cares if almost 100,000 people in Portland are unemployed.

[HarleyD]

The Walmart in Portland should announce they’ll only hire illegal immigants. That might make the protesters happy.

[RightOnline]

Memo from Bentonville, AR, WalMart Worldwide HQ:

Puck Fortland.

[Yardstick]

Liberals. Could they be any sillier? Forcing Walmart to display its acquiscence to local PC norms by sporting an “eco roof”. This could be the premise for an episode of Portlandia.

[Popman]

I wonder how much it cost to build the additional support structure to handle additional weight of an “ecoroof”

[sergeantdave]

Portland is a breeding ground for 30 IQ eco-fascists. After great difficulty with the morons in the FBI in Michigan who tried to throw us off the track, we managed to nail a couple of these Portland Nazis who tried to blow up a forestry station at a Michigan university. We had the assistance of an excellent Portland FBI agent who sent them to prison. The agent who assisted us is retired, unfortunately, leaving the field to commie FBI agents who are outright traitors.

[elkfersupper]

There is no point in even giving a head-nod to these idiots.

WalMart should have just pretended they don't exist.

Instead, WalMart panders to them and look what happens.

I say let these nutballs pull a Rachel Corrie.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks smokingfrog.

[smokingfrog]

Too much to make it worthwhile, most likely.