Gerald Buchheit filed plans late Thursday for a 120,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store - the first proposed for the Town of Orchard Park - on a 20-acre site on the south side of Milestrip Road. The $8 million store would offer traditional Wal-Mart fare plus a full line of grocery items.

Buchheit has already developed Quaker Crossing, located directly across Milestrip Road from the proposed Wal-Mart site.

"I think we've proven with Quaker Crossing that a retail center can be extremely attractive, it doesn't have to be a bunch of boxes. We'll do the same with the Wal-Mart," he said.

He said he has been negotiating with Wal-Mart for the past six months on a facade that mixes red brick with faux clapboard bump-outs that resemble small shops.

"You'll think Williamsburg, not Wal-Mart, when you see it. It's a very appropriate look for Orchard Park," Buchheit added.

Orchard Park Supervisor Mary Travers Murphy isn't so sure the town wants or needs a Wal-Mart, regardless of what it looks like.

"I will be extremely curious to hear what Orchard Park residents have to say about this. I'm going to defer judgment until I hear resident feedback, and I'm sure there will be plenty," Travers Murphy said.

The supervisor also noted that two new Wal-Mart Supercenters are already in the works in Hamburg and West Seneca, a distance of 3.4 miles and 7 miles, respectively, from the Milestrip Road site.

"Do we really need so many Wal-Marts so close together? That doesn't make sense to me," Travers Murphy said.

Wal-Mart is in the midst of an aggressive campaign in the Buffalo metropolitan area to replace older stores with updated versions. The retailer operates seven stores in Amherst, Cheektowaga, Clarence, Hamburg, Niagara Falls, Lockport and Springville and has plans to replace four of those, while adding two new stores.

The Milestrip Road store would replace the existing Wal-Mart at 4255 McKinley Parkway in Hamburg.

Buchheit's WSRB Development company had previously obtained preliminary town approvals for a 134,000-square-foot Sam's Club, a Wal-Mart sister chain, on the site. Buchheit said Wal-Mart approached him last summer, seeking to substitute the supercenter for the "members only" retail facility.

The Wal-Mart will be slightly smaller than the Sam's Club, will not sell gasoline and will feature more green space. It also requires Buchheit to start anew in gaining required town approvals and permits.

While the undeveloped parcel is already zoned commercial, the developer will need to pass muster on everything from design to environmental and traffic impact. Travers Murphy said she's particularly concerned about increased traffic.

"I'm already concerned about the traffic situation over there from Quaker Crossing. I'll want to see heavy emphasis on an updated traffic study," she said.

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