Walmart will anchor a proposed power shopping center in the Porters Neck area of New Hanover County, the company said Thursday.

Officials with the Arkansas-based retailer announced its partnership with Paramount Development Corporation to possibly deliver the county’s third Walmart Supercenter, according to a news release.

Development officials with the Beckely, W. Va.-based development firm announced in March plans to construct a 225,000-250,000-square-foot retail center on 44 acres currently owned by the YMCA and New Hanover Regional Medical Center in the 8100 block of  Market Street.

Walmart and Paramount representatives met with New Hanover County planning officials Wednesday to review plans for the 182,000-square-foot supercenter, the release stated.

Officials are seeking to rezone a 15-acre parcel to B2, which allows high-density commercial development and matches the zoning designation of the adjoining 29-acre parcel, to make way for the large-scale development. 

Like hundreds of its supercenter locations, the proposed Porters Neck branch would offer a wide range of merchandise and groceries, including fresh produce. The store would also include a bakery, a deli, a garden center and a drive-thru pharmacy, the release stated.

“We look forward to providing north Wilmington customers with a new option for affordable food as well as a broad assortment of general merchandise,”  Walmart spokesperson Bill Wertz said in a news release. “From an economic development standpoint, our store will employ about 300 people, help to attract other businesses to the area and generate tax revenue for the county.”

Walmart currently operates four supercenter stores and a retail warehouse in greater Wilmington, including a Sam’s Club in the University Center shopping plaza on South College Road, and a supercenter store on Market Street in Wilmington.

The mega retailer also operates another supercenter on Carolina Beach Road in Monkey Junction and two stores in he Brunswick County communities of Shallotte and Leland.