League City Walmart reopens after renovation while staying open during work

The Walmart on FM 646 in League City reopened with a grand celebration on May 15 after a renovation that never forced the store to shut down. For hourly associates and managers, that matters more than the ribbon-cutting: it shows how a remodel can turn into months of extra traffic management, stocking pressure, aisle resets and customer questions while the store still has to run.

State permitting records list the project at 1701 W FM 646 Rd in League City, with work starting February 8 and finishing May 14. The estimated cost was $1.8 million. The scope covered an interior remodel of 24,672 square feet, plus a 4,312-square-foot addition. In practice, that kind of work means teams are operating around construction, revised layouts and changing customer paths before the finished store ever opens fully.

The League City project fits into a much larger Walmart investment push. On April 16, the company said it planned more than 650 scheduled remodels of Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets in 2026, along with about 20 new store grand openings in 2026 and early 2027. Walmart said the effort builds on a 2024 commitment to open or convert more than 150 locations. The company has described the updated-store format as including wider aisles, refreshed interiors and exteriors, updated layouts, expanded pickup and delivery services, and Vision Centers and Pharmacies with private consultation rooms.

Texas is one of the biggest beneficiaries of that spending. Walmart said it planned 72 store remodels in the state in 2026, and separate Texas reporting put the company’s investment in Texas stores at more than $2.5 billion over the past five years. Another round of 2025 remodels touched nearly 650 stores nationwide, including 67 in Texas and eight in the Greater Houston region, with upgrades such as expanded store capacity, online pickup and delivery areas, private pharmacy screening rooms and checkout areas, and redesigned signage and branding.

For Walmart workers, League City is a practical case study in how the chain wants remodels to work going forward. The company did not close the store while the work was underway, which kept sales flowing but also forced associates to absorb the disruption in real time. If this model becomes standard, future remodels will demand tighter communication, stronger zone discipline and more patience from teams who have to keep the floor shoppable while the building itself is still changing.