Recession or not, it took a while, but grading work for the 136,000-square-foot Sam’s Club at the Fisher Crossing retail development at Ga. Highway 34 and Fischer Road in east Coweta has begun. The retailer is expected to open in late 2010.

Developer Scott Seymour said he is pleased that the development is under way. Seymour several months ago correctly said the recession and a Chapter 11 reorganization would not impede Sam’s Club from establishing a presence in east Coweta, approximately one mile from the west side of Peachtree City.

Sam’s Club will anchor the northwest corner of the Fischer Road/Hwy. 34 intersection. As originally conceived, the entire Fischer Crossing development would bring nearly 1 million square feet of retail to the east Coweta/Peachtree City area. The entire Fischer Crossing commercial area spans the northeast, northwest and southwest corners of the intersection.

Seymour in August said the decision by the federal bankruptcy court paved the way for a closing with Bright-Meyers Peachtree City Associates, LLC, on the property on which the Sam’s Club is to be located. Today, said Seymour, the expectation is that the new Sam’s Club will be open for business before the end of 2010.

Sam’s Club has 11 locations in metro Atlanta. The Coweta location will be the third Sam’s Club on the south side of Atlanta, the others being near Southlake Mall in Clayton County and near McDonough in Henry County. Neither of those are located in southwest metro, a fact that Seymour said should be beneficial for Coweta since residents from a large geographic area will likely shop at the new store.

As the crow flies, Fischer Crossing is eight-tenths of a mile west of the Ga. Highway 54 bridge over Line Creek. The Sam’s Club will be within two miles of its corporate sibling, a 24-hour Super Walmart in Wilksmoor Village.

Sam’s Club is a chain of more than 700 membership-only retail warehouse clubs in every state but Oregon and Vermont, according to Wikipedia. Owned and operated by Walmart Stores, Inc., the chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members, many of whom pay $25 a year for the membership card.

Most merchandise is sold in bulk and directly off pallets. Clubs are arranged much like a warehouse, with merchandise stocked in warehouse-style steel bins. Most locations also have have pharmacy, tire and battery, photo, bakery, optical, cafe and floral departments. Small businesses can buy at wholesale prices, minus sales taxes, on items they later re-sell.