CHEYENNE – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning a regional specialty distribution center in Cheyenne to serve stores in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The retail giant has closed a deal to buy slightly less than five acres in the Cheyenne Business Parkway from Cheyenne LEADS, Cheyenne and Laramie County’s economic-development corporation.

Wal-Mart plans to start construction in May on a 32,000-square-foot facility and begin shipping operations late in 1997, the company said. Initial hiring of about 25 area residents is expected to begin this fall.

The new facility will be devoted to a single merchandise line and won’t rival Wal-Mart’s 1-million-square-foot distribution center in Loveland, but it does have potential for future expansion.

“They’ve footprinted the building out on the site to make sure it accommodates future expansion, if the need develops,´ said Cheyenne LEADS president Jack Crews.

Wal-Mart operates 39 distribution centers, 2,300 Wal-Mart stores and 436 Sam’s Clubs in 50 states and Puerto Rico. The company currently has nine stores and employs 1,891 people in Wyoming.

The Cheyenne Business Parkway is located between the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 80 just east of College Drive.