Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has cleared the site in

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has cleared the site in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where its store was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and has hired consultants to study a proposal for constructing a “Wal-Mart village” there, says local architect Robin Riley. Riley and Marcel Wisznia, Bob Tannen, and Pres Kabacoff have proposed working with Wal-Mart to develop about 300 apartments as well as a superstore and other small retail operations on the approximately 17-acre site (see April-May New Urban News). High post-Katrina construction costs, a need to build in ways that will withstand hurricanes, and other factors mean that the housing construction will require public subsidy, most likely from GO-Zone funds distributed by the state, Riley said. Wal-Mart had to hire consultants to help the company understand the complicated proposal, Riley said, adding, “We’re all working diligently to move it along.”