Walmart wants to turn some stores into Town Centers including two in Texas

Walmart believes its big stores and parking lots have the potential to be more than where you come and stock up. Walmart is beginning to reimagine its properties as Walmart Town Centers with outdoor spaces, entertainment, local food vendors and health and fitness services.

Some of what Walmart wants to do is similar to what mall owners are doing to redevelop tired enclosed shopping centers built in the 1970s and 1980s. Discounters such as Walmart and Target siphoned shoppers from the malls and department stores back then. Now Walmart may have an advantage to local malls also trying to become more interesting destinations: Its stores already have the customer traffic.

Walmart has selected stores in a few states including Texas to start exploring the potential with interested developers who want to partner on the town center concept, said Anne Hatfield, Walmart spokeswoman.

Two stores in Texas are among those under consideration:

-- Garland at 555 W. Interstate 30

-- Lewisville at 190 E. Round Grove Road

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