A deal is not completed, but the process is under way. The retailer has a contract to buy the property at 1720 E. Hillsborough Ave., pending the city approving the project and granting needed permits.

An environmental study is underway to determine if any toxins must be removed from the site.

According to county records, the site is valued for tax purposes at about $2.8 million and is owned by Abraham Chevrolet Co.

In two letters to the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association, city officials stated that Walmart recently was approved to install driveways on Mohawk Avenue and 19th Street to separate customer and truck traffic onto and off of the property.

Walmart representatives also would like a traffic signal installed at 19th Street and Hillsborough Avenue, where there is a McDonald's restaurant. The letters to the neighborhood stated the city supports the signal. Because Hillsborough is a state road, a decision on a traffic signal would be determined by Florida Department of Transportation.

About a year ago Walmart officials met with state highway officials about the traffic light, said Kris Carson, a transportation department spokeswoman. "It's on our radar," she said.

But no application has been filed and a traffic study must be completed before state officials could decide on allowing a traffic signal, she said.

Word about Walmart spread in an email sent this week by the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association and through postings on The Official Unofficial Seminole Heights' Blog and the Greater Seminole Heights Facebook page.

Debi Johnson, president of the Old Seminole Heights' group, said responses have been a "mixed bag." The association's board planned to meet Tuesday to discuss Walmart's perceived plans.

The site lies within a district which has guidelines for development. "What we want to do is make sure they are good neighbors," Johnson said. "We want to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing."

One issue will be increased traffic, particularly truck traffic. Johnson said residents worry about cut-through traffic into the neighborhood. Just to the west of the possible Walmart site, trucks are banned from 15th Street but sometimes use that route anyway, Johnson said.

One blogger wrote: "I support the Walmart. We need another grocery option. And yes buying towels and crockpots, Christmas lights, bath rugs, planters, toys for the grankids are all things I have to leave the neighborhood for."

Another wrote, "This is very worrisome. Walmart is known for putting local businesses out of business by undercutting prices and by being a one-stop shopping for everything."

The topic also produced sharp differences Tuesday at the monthly meeting of the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership.

Some people said locally owned stores would be damaged or put out of business. Others say it means jobs and shopping convenience.

"You have to be careful what you ask for," said East Tampa resident Yvette Lewis. "Walmart is known to go into neighborhoods and they'll wipe away the (neighborhood) businesses. Walmart is not the answer to this community. It may bring some jobs but we'll lose a lot more."

The partnership is a volunteer group that works with city officials to end blight within a 7-square-mile special tax district bordered by Hillsborough, interstates 275 and 4, and the city limits.

A portion of property taxes collected in the district must be re-invested in the community, generally on infrastructure projects.

"I leave it to the community's concern," said Essie Sims, partnership chairman.

But Walmart, he said, would be an economic boon to the community. "I believe it is something that would bring an influx of dollars into the community, and jobs."