A hardware store is setting up shop in downtown Burlington for the first time in roughly two decades.
Gordon Winters plans to open an Ace Hardware on College Street by early January. He’s in the midst of renovating the 4,000-square-foot former office space and received his building permits from the city last week.
“There’s definitely a want for it, there’s definitely a need for it,” Winters said.
The store, located next door to a Northfield Savings Bank branch, will contain typical hardware store amenities as well as wares that cater to the local population: packing and cleaning materials for college students, specialty plumbing for the city’s older buildings, and a marine section for boaters, Winters said.
The store will be laid out in Ace’s “urban downtown format” and will “pack a lot more stuff into smaller spaces,” he said.
Burlingtonians have long wanted a downtown hardware store, according to Mayor Miro Weinberger, ever since Hagar Hardware on Church Street closed in the 1990s. The mayor frequently hears complaints that the area “doesn’t fully serve the daily needs of residents as well as it once did.”
“I think the idea of having a hardware store right on City Hall Park addresses that concern directly,” the mayor said.
The nearest hardware is Curtis Lumber on Pine Street in Burlington.
City officials worked with Winters to address accessibility issues and apply for the necessary zoning and building permits for the storefront renovation, Weinberger said.
The store will employ three or four full-time employees and four or five part-time staff, according to Winters. The owner plans to offer deliveries by scooter or bicycle to nearby homes or businesses.
It’s Winters’ sixth Ace Hardware; he owns others in Swanton, Jericho, St. Albans, Milton and Champlain, N.Y. The Swanton resident is a third-generation hardware store owner.
Ron Redmond, executive director of the Church Street Marketplace, said he approached Winters 18 months ago and asked him to consider opening a store in Burlington. The location is just a block away from the Marketplace.
Winters successfully advocated his bosses at Ace for the go-ahead, according to Redmond. “It’s a real benefit, and it’s not necessarily something that a lot of downtowns have these days,” he said.
Correction, November 24, 2018: An earlier version of this story misidentified the nearest hardware store to downtown Burlington. It is Curtis Lumber.
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Wonderful, wonderful news! A hardware store has been sorely missed since Hagar Hardware closed on Church Street!
Don’t be blinded by the hardware store. This is just another classic example of Miro partnering with a business man to pad his own pockets and take away from the City. Why is this store in downtown? Who benefits from it? The Marketplace? Students? What about the real citizens of Burlington? I smell a rat.
Good! The nearest semi hardware store is Curtis lumber but there’s a lot of things they don’t have so this will be great except for the parking problem that was made by the defunct shopping mall problems made by Don the con and the ongoing street construction on ST. Paul St.
Doesn’t Curtis Lumber on Pine count as a hardware store? It’s closer than the 3 miles north in the NNE?
Curtis Lumber on Pine Street has a good amount of hardware-type stuff if I remember correctly, although it may not be an official “hardware store”. I have not been there in a long time and have no affiliation with it whatsoever.
“Don’t be blinded by the hardware store.”
Good news. Oh, wait, this is bad news because it somehow involves Mayor Weinberger. I love all the folks who will always see a silver lining and find a gray cloud.
Who benefits? When new retail outlets open consumers and vendors benefit, while nearby hardware stores in SB and the NNE and outlets that sell substitute goods (perhaps City Market and Curtis Lumber) will be disadvantaged. Downtown service-sector employees will also benefit, as this store will add slack to the labor market and create new opportunities–ultimately driving up wages.
I’d add that Curtis doesn’t really count as a hardware store. Its a building supplies store that caters to contractors with contractors’ hours (closing at 3pm or whatever and not open Sunday)–whence its a substitute for a consumer-focused store like Ace or True Value. Ace serves a different niche and will provide a badly-needed service for downtown residents. Perhaps they can sell tackle and fishing licenses as well to compliment waterfront tourism.
The Mayor and his administration deserve praise for eliminating the bureaucratic red tape and regulatory hurdles that have prevented new hardware stores from opening the past. Aside from the convenience aspect, more competition is always great.
I will add though that Lowes on Shelburne Road looks like its 2.5mi from City Hall Park, a tad closer.
Now there will be plenty of access to hardware materials downtown. I expect construction on the mall to start up again as a result.
Great news….now…a butcher, florist, dry cleaners, key cutters (ace may have this hopefully) , sandwich shops under 12 bucks….you know those ‘livability’ things.
My name is Francis Marks and I have been an employee of Curtis Lumber for 5 years. It seems like there are some misconceptions as to the services that Curtis Lumber provides to the city of Burlington. We are indeed a full service hardware store. Besides a well-stocked drive through lumberyard, we offer key copying services, color matching and mixing in our paint department, a full line of hardware items for the DIY home owner and professional. We also have a kitchen and bath showroom with two on staff designers, as well as a window, siding and door showroom. Curtis Lumber has been in business for over 125 years, it is family owned and has been providing great customer service to our friends and family in and around the city of Burlington for the last 10 years.
Francis Marks
Counter Sales
Curtis Lumber
Branch: Burlington Vermont
315 Pine Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: 802-651-6500
Fax: 802-864-6209
FMarks@curtislumber.com
http://www.curtislumber.com