Lithonia Neighborhood Market Groundbreaking Wednesday

The grocery-only concept will go up in the Covington Square shopping center, where Big Lots once stood.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Walmart Neighborhood Market in Lithonia is Wednesday, May 1. An invitation to the event from a communications firm was shared via e-mail to members of the Hidden Hills community by its civic association. Walmart's grocery-only store will go up where the Big Lots used to be in the Covington Square shopping center, at the corner of Covington Highway and Panola Road. Read more of Stone Mountain-Lithonia Patch's coverage of the Lithonia Walmart Neighborhood Market.

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Big Lots Space on Covington Torn Down

The building has been razed; a Walmart Neighborhood Market is slated to take its place.

The Big Lots in Lithonia's Covington Square shopping center is no more. The store closed its doors Jan. 15. There's now rubble, construction equipment and large metal trash bins where the building once stood. A Walmart Neighborhood Market is slated to be built in its place. Walmart spokesman Bill Wertz told Patch last October that construction would start this year on the project, which he said will create around 90 jobs. Check back with Patch for updates. You may also be interested in reading: 38,000 Square Foot L.A. Fitness Under Construction at Panola and Covington

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Businesses in Stone Mountain and Lithonia Opening in 2013

Take a look at some of the establishments planning to open their doors this year.

Here is a list of several establishments with openings planned this year (Patch will update this list periodically): Early 2013 Walmart supercenter on Memorial Drive near N. Hairston Rd. TGI Friday's near Mall at Stonecrest L.A. Fitness at Covington and Panola Road Tuesday Morning on Stone Mountain Highway New Hyundai Dealership in former Baranco space, Stone Mountain Highway Melting Pot, 5150 Stone Mountain Highway Shell Station, Stone Mountain Highway February 2013 New arts incubator artist in former Butterfly House space, Stone Mountain Village July 2013 Walmart supercenter on Mall Parkway, Lithonia Later 2013/early 2014 Walmart Neighborhood Market at Covington and Panola

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Future Walmart 'Neighborhood Market' in Lithonia To Create 90 Jobs

Most of the positions would be full-time, a Walmart spokesman said. Some Patch readers in want more upscale options and employers in the area.

The Neighborhood Market that Walmart plans to build in place of the Big Lots at Covington Square in Lithonia would create about 90 jobs, according to Bill Wertz, Walmart's director of community and media relations, east. Most of the jobs are full time, he said. There's still some time before the hiring process begins. Demolition of the Big Lots, whose lease is coming up at Covington Square, has to happen first. Construction of the new 40,000 square foot store would start next year, Wertz said. Between the Neighborhood Market and the new L.A. Fitness under construction across the street, about 140 jobs are expected to be created in the area from those two businesses. In the first Patch article about the Walmart's plans for a Neighborhood …

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Update on Walmart's Neighborhood Market Plans for Covington Square

There's information on the square footage and more in a recent news report.