MORGAN HILL
– After months of guessing and speculation, the official word
was released Monday that a Home Depot will fill the vacated Kmart
space on East Dunne Avenue. What has not been determined is which
kind of Home Depot it will be.
MORGAN HILL – After months of guessing and speculation, the official word was released Monday that a Home Depot will fill the vacated Kmart space on East Dunne Avenue. What has not been determined is which kind of Home Depot it will be.
Garrett Toy, the city’s Business Assistance and Housing director, confirmed the rumor that had been circulating for weeks that the answer was Home Depot.
Kathryn Gallagher, spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based national chain said, because the project was still in the planning stages, she did not have many details yet but promised a “colorful description” later along with information on how to apply for the many jobs the store will provide. About 90 full-and part-time workers lost their jobs when Kmart closed earlier this year.
“We will be moving into the former Kmart site,” she said Monday. “We are working through the approval process and have an application into the (city) planning department for review.”
Home Depot, Gallagher said, has several “concept stores” besides the familiar purveyor of sinks, nails and insulation, including the popular Expo stores with high-end appliances and designer kitchens and bathrooms.
“It probably won’t be an Expo,” she said. Home Depot also fields stores geared toward landscape or building professionals, called Home Depot Supply and Home Depot Landscape Supply.
The general public is welcome at all stores, Gallagher said. The company is looking for the best “fit” for the area, she said, considering there is a Home Depot in Gilroy, to remain, and a new Lowe’s store in Gilroy as well.
Mike Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Lumber/Ace Hardware on Tennant Avenue said, while he does suppose Home Depot will have an effect on his store, he does have plans to combat that effect.
“We have a 20,000-square-foot addition in the works – ready in April or May – that will double our retail space,” he said, “and we will expand our parking spots from 30 to 80.”
The Butterfield extension will dead end – for the time being – at Johnson’s Hardware, (plus the nearby medical building and freeway services, under consideration by the city), and will bring more business, he said.
Retail hardware is only 20 percent of the store’s customers, Johnson said. The store does a great deal of lumber contracting and also does a significant amount of custom door business, some of which comes from Gilroy Home Depot referrals.
“We get between three and five referrals on the weekends,” Johnson said.
No opening date has been set yet. Gallagher said the company would be better able to judge when Morgan Hill can begin Home Depot shopping in town after the project makes its way through the planning process and the company decides which store concept it wants to install.
Jim Rowe, the city’s planning manager, said he hasn’t seen the Home Depot request yet but has been told to expect it this week.
“The site and architectural review process should take about six weeks,” Rowe said. “It will go to the Architecture Review Board but not to the Planning Commission since it doesn’t involve a zoning change.”
Home Depot plans to expand the garden center to 17,000 square-feet, make changes on elevations (altering the building’s exterior) and reconfigure the loading area with a higher loading dock, Rowe said.
City Finance Director Jack Dilles keeps a close eye on sales tax revenues that pay for police and fire protection, recreation services and administrative costs.
He said the income from the new store would be “significant.”
“This is excellent news,” Dilles said. “It should bring in more taxes than the previous business. It’s great for the city.”
