KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The Walmart near the University of Tennessee will close its doors at the end of the month.
It will close on March 29 and the pharmacy will close March 15, according to Anne Hatfield, Walmart's spokesperson for Tennessee.
“After a careful and thoughtful review process, we have made the difficult decision to close the Walmart store at 2501 University Commons Way," Hatfield said in a statement.
She said the pharmacy patients will be transferred to the Walmart on Walbrook Drive. If patients want their prescriptions transferred somewhere else, Hatfield said the pharmacy teams will work with any patients to get them taken care of.
There are about 160 associates at that location and Hatfield said They will be connecting with each one of them to find out what they want to do and if they're interested in transferring.
“Taking care of them is our top priority right now," Hatfield said. "We have three stores within five miles of that location."
The stores she was referring to were the ones on Clinton Highway, Chapman Highway, and Kinzel Way.
The 120,000-square-foot, two-story store, adjacent to the University of Tennessee campus at 2501 University Commons Way, opened in August 2014.
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"We invite our customers to shop at our other Knoxville stores and on Walmart.com," Hatfield said. "We will continue to serve customers in new ways across Tennessee through expanded Online Grocery, store remodels and many other innovations aimed at saving them time and money. We will also continue our investments in training to give our associates the skills to succeed and a path to grow their careers.”
Hatfield said it’s important to point out that Walmart remains deeply committed to Tennessee.
"During fiscal year 2018, Walmart spent $3.5 billion (with a B) with 876 Tennessee suppliers, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed nearly $41 million in cash and in-kind donations to Tennessee non-profits, and donated 22.8 million pounds of food to Tennessee food pantries – that’s the equivalent of 19 million meals. With 139 Walmart stores, 14 Sam’s Clubs and more than 41,000 associates, Tennessee is still an important state for our business."
The site of the Walmart, its garage and the land it sits on next to the University of Tennessee campus sold for $45.6 million back in October 2015, according to records filed with the Knox County Register of Deeds.