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New Tecumseth and SmartCentres have reached an agreement on the development charges for the Walmart in Alliston that will result in construction of the Supercentre to begin. Alliston Development Limited, the SmartCentres developer, is footing the bill for upgrades to the water and sewer services. In exchange, the town is giving SmartCentres development charge credits. There will also be a Best Efforts Agreement for the developer’s upgrades. For the next 15 years, starting June 1, the town will use its best effort to reimburse Alliston Developments for the final cost of the projects when other developers benefit from the services they upfront the cost for. "It was fairly negotiated and is reasonable for both parties," said Prakash David, SmartCentres director of development. David said he, and other developers, are still hoping the total development charges are eventually reduced. He said construction of the Walmart should start this week, which would have the building finished by the fall and the store opening in January 2010. Bob MacKenzie owns the property bordering the southern edge of the Walmart development and is glad to see the project moving ahead. "It’s nice to see development going on," said MacKenzie. MacKenzie spoke to New Tecumseth council last Monday night about a few minor concerns he had about the services being installed, which were addressed at the meeting. The Walmart development is on Highway 89 east of County Road 10 and west of Dunham Drive, a new municipal road being built for the project. Dunham Drive will run north/south and connect with Mackenzie Pioneer in the south and Highway 89 in the north. Alliston Developments Limited is putting in two water mains. The first will be along Mackenzie Pioneer Road from County Road 10 to just west of Dunham Drive, according to a town report. A second water main will be installed as a part of phase two of the project and will run along Highway 89. The development will be serviced from an internal private sanitary sewer system. The developer is building and maintaining a private pump station on the southeast corner of Dunham Drive and Mackenzie Pioneer. A sanitary forcemain that connects to the Regional Sewage Treatment Plant will also be installed. The Walmart is expected to be 170,000 square feet and feature the department store and food sections. Reitmans and Dollarama are slated to be tenants of the development. Originally Walmart was scheduled to open this past January. That target was moved back last spring and SmartCentres was aiming to get site plan approval for the development in the fall. When New Tecumseth raised its development charges in September it pushed the Walmart project back even further.