SAN DIEGO -- Walmart announced Friday it would take over an old Mervyn's location in Nestor and create a new store that will employ about 250 people.

The 75,000-square-foot store will be located near Interstate 5 and Palm Avenue when it opens this fall, according to the retailer. Construction is set to begin in March, and a hiring center will open during the summer.

It will be the 19th Walmart store in San Diego County.

"Walmart continues to demonstrate its commitment to San Diego," Mayor Jerry Sanders said. "A year ago, Wal-Mart promised to create jobs and today, we are here not just to witness the announcement of a new store, but the revitalization of an empty building and a community in need of opportunity."

"We'll be generating sales tax revenue out of this. It helps the city tremendously," Sanders added.

Last year, Walmart promised to build a dozen stores in San Diego over a five-year period. The pledge came just before the City Council repealed an ordinance requiring developers of superstores to file economic impact reports on the neighborhoods where they plan to build.

Councilman David Alvarez said the Mervyn's building has been vacant for several years. Walmart will help revitalize the neighborhood's economy and provide retail services for residents, he said.

Lorena Gonzalez of the San Diego and Imperial County Labor Council said the jobs generated by the new store will be low-paying jobs. She said Walmart employees make on average about $8.30 an hour, forcing them to live off government assistance.

"These are all things that we as taxpayers pay and it just doesn't make sense that, as taxpayers, we're going to subsidize the world's largest and richest corporation," said Gonzalez.

"What Lorena means is that they're not union jobs that they pay every bit the same at the union jobs that you find at Vons and Ralphs and some of those other stores. It's simply that they're not into the union family and that's what rankles some of the union folks," said Sanders.

Sanders said Walmart generates nearly a $100 million in sales taxes every year for San Diego. He added more Walmart stores will be announced in the next few weeks.