A real estate committee for Lowe’s has decided to hold off building a new store at 24th Avenue and Industrial Road for as much as a year to see what the economy does.
The decision to delay construction comes on the heels of a sharp drop in revenues for the Lowe’s corporation. The Wall Street Journal reported a 60 percent decrease in revenues for Lowe’s in the fourth quarter last year, with sales expected to continue falling this year.
“The project is still on,” city manager Matt Zimmerman said. “They’re simply delaying it due to the economic conditions.”
Zimmerman said Lowe’s has scrapped plans for Lowe’s stores in other cities in Kansas.
“To me, that’s a very positive sign that they’re still committed to doing this project when the economy turns around,” Zimmerman said.
According to Regional Development Association president Kent Heermann, the company plans to start construction early in the first quarter of 2010, and will open in the fourth quarter.
“We’re still in the hunt,” Heermann said. “We feel pretty good about it. It’s just tough times.”
“It’s unfortunate,” Zimmerman said. “I think we just have to weather the storm.”
Representatives for developer DJ Christie could not be reached for comment.
Tell (anonymous) says...
Since forming the R.D.A. do we have more jobs in Emporia than we did fifteen years ago?
How much tax dollars does it cost to support the R.D.A.?
How many staff members does the R.D.A. support what are their salaries?
What are the long and short term goals for the R.D.A.?
Who evaluates the performance of the R.D. A. ?
"we're still in the hunt" is this coming from the same person that said the bio diesel plant consruction was only closed for the winter and would be starting back in the spring [ two winters ago]
Are we really in touch with the community?
In the last fifteen years how many industries has the R.D.A. brought to town?
March 14, 2009 at 6:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )