Almost six years after it was originally proposed, construction is about to begin on a Walmart Supercenter at the southern end of Cerrillos Road.

A formal groundbreaking will take place in the next few weeks at the 17-acre site, said Delia Garcia, spokeswoman for the giant retail chain. "It should be starting in January and finished in late 2011 or early 2012."

Now that Wal-mart Stores Inc. is moving ahead with the 149,000-square-foot store, which will include a full-service supermarket, some smaller businesses have indicated they, too, will consider building nearby. A Santa Fe real-estate agent said he knows of at least three businesses planning to do so.

Garcia said the final legal obstacle to the new store was resolved last year.

The general contractor for the project is Roche Constructors Inc. of Greeley, Colo. In a statement on the firm's website, Roche said the firm is responsible not only for the store's construction but also for earthwork, erosion control, asphalt pavement, landscaping and other work.

Roche has completed 25 projects for the Arkansas-based chain, including a Walmart Supercenter in Albuquerque in 2009.

The long-stalled project, part of the Entrada Contenta development in a vacant area west of Cerrillos Road, has been one of Santa Fe's most controversial developments in recent years. The original proposal was made in the spring of 2005, when the William Herrera family of Santa Fe and two Arizona developers released plans for the land south of Ocate Road.

The city had annexed the land in 1985, part of the huge annexation that added the Tierra Contenta area south of Airport Road to the city limits.

At the time the store was proposed, one commercial real-estate agent predicted the store could be completed by the fall shopping season of 2006 — if there were no delays. There were plenty of stoppages, however, including a lawsuit by local business owners and others seeking to block the store in a case that made it all the way to the state Court of Appeals. In the process, work on the store was held up for four years.

In June 2009, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals sustained ruling by a district judge who had upheld a City Council decision to approve the store.

The new store will employ 300 people full- and part-time, Garcia said.

The original Santa Fe Walmart store at 3251 Cerrillos Road will remain open. "Our plan has always been to have two stores to serve Santa Fe," Garcia said. The company also has a Sam's Club on Rodeo Road.

The area around the new Walmart could be attractive for other businesses, including Beaver Toyota, which previously expressed an interest in the area and has 19 acres near the store site. General manager Matt Calavan said, however, the dealership wouldn't be building a new facility until work on the Walmart store moved ahead.

Calavan couldn't be reached on Monday afternoon.

Rusty Wafer, a commercial real-estate agent with Santa Fe Properties, said there are three businesses, including two restaurants, that want to move near Walmart but have been waiting for work to start on the giant store.

"A lot of people have been waiting for the groundbreaking," Wafer said, adding that he couldn't disclose the names of the businesses because they have yet to sign contracts.

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.