NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — One of our Facebook friends pointed us to this recent posting on stopping Walmart stores on a Columbia Business School blog "Public Offering."

Paul Ingram, a Columbia professor, has done studies of Walmart's reception in communities and how that's affected its plans. The result was surprising: 65 percent of its proposed new stores were canceled between 1998 and 2005 because of less-than-welcoming communities.

Even though the global discounter made over $400 billion in 2008, local antagonism can put the brakes on construction.

Building a new retail outlet is not cheap. A store location encompassing tens of thousands of square feet can cost up to $10 million to build. Added to that, the hunt for viable real estate is fraught with uncertainties, particularly when it comes to community support.

 Walmart uses cheaper filings with city and town governments to measure the degree of opposition. The posting doesn't say how it determines support (that may be in Ingram's 50-page study linked to the posting) but we're guessing petitions and pizza parties similar to those being used in North Adams.

It does shatter the mythology that only a hardy few (like Greenfield and parts of Vermont) have been able to stall the global giant. It appears Walmart dips its toes into the water before diving in.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City Councilor Keith Bona sent us these renderings and photos he found online showing that the mega-retailer's changed its facade more than once to accommodate local conditions.

"As you know I am in favor of the new Walmart," Bona wrote us. "However, I support community input, and found their first concept of the building plain and ugly compared to other developments I have seen."

The Planning Board, too, on Monday night disliked Walmart's new prototype (close to  that above) and asked the company to come back with a more suitable New England look, as it did for its current store in the city and as Super Stop & Shop had done. They like the whole modular concrete and recycled paper facade (yes, paper) but the desert look left them dry.

Walmart's rep at the meeting, attorney Jay Sabin, said reconfiguring the roof line would be expensive. More expensive than reconfiguring a section of Curran Highway to MassHighway standards? Likely not. If Walmart wants to cover 14 acres with pavement and buildings, the least it can do is put up something halfway decent. We can't expect 100 percent — there's only so much you can do with a giant cardboard box.

More Walmart

 Below: Walmart's white roof and skylights designed to save energy. The new Walmart would have 160 skylights.

This blog is designed to cover all aspects of the Walmart Super Center proposal, including links to outside sources. To start, here are the stories so far in chronological order:

Super Duper Wally World?

Word is a Walmart Supercenter is headed our way.  According to a report in the North Adams Transcript, the multinational retailer has filed plans at North Adams City Hall for a 160,000 square-foot building at the city's old gravel bank.

Facebook Group Wants to Unfriend Walmart

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Facebook group for local residents unhappy with news that a Walmart Supercenter was headed our way has more than 200 friends and counting.

North Adams Residents Raise Questions About Walmart Plans

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — More than two dozen people gathered at the Cup & Saucer on Saturday morning to express their concerns over the construction of a Walmart Supercenter a few miles from Main Street.

For or Against Walmart? There's a Meeting For That

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There'll be dueling meetings about Walmart on Thursday night as both supporters and opponents have planned gatherings to promote their views on the mega-discount chain.

Walmart Opposers Call for Hearing Postponement

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A community group questioning the construction of a Walmart Super Center is asking the Planning Board to postpone its Monday hearing on the massive project.

WAMC's Story on Walmart