Real estate vets opening hardware store - Charlotte Business Journal:

uqyvemiwu.wordpress.com
Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summet at 63Third St., the same address where they renovated the upperf four floors into 19 luxurt apartments called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commerciaol leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarde store is needed downtown to served local businesses and residents who must now travel miles away to buy equipment andother supplies. They know the frustratiob firsthand after doing two residential renovation project s inthe city, the Conservatory and Poweras Park Lofts in north Troy. “Our construction staffv was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spending a lot of time drivinvg to Latham and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void here.’” Trojab Hardware on Congress Streety recently closed after 94 years in business, leaving downtown with no othe r hardware stores. The closest is acrossw the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptow near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of inFort Ind., the nation’s second largest hardwarr co-operative. The store will be managedf by Steven Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, who has more than 25 yearse of experience in the hardware industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stocj hardware, small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbing Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeils have been planning the storre fora year. As part of theie research they visited hardware stores in college townz and large cities to see what kindsx of productscustomers need. They also searchedc hard for someone to managwthe store. “The decision wasn’f final until we found the righg person,” Pfeil said. The Pfeils have been in the commercial real estate and development business for more than 20 but this will be the first time they will owna There’s a reason for that.
“Because of all the yearsw we worked with retailers very closely we have a pretth thorough understandingof that’s probably why we never went into it,” Jeff Pfeikl said. “It’s sort of a joke, but retaio is a lot of hard long hours and all the things that comewith it.” Still, they knew from personalo experience a hardware store is neededr and were encouraged by the resultxs of their marketing studies. Findinvg a seasoned store manager was also Mayor Harry Tutunjian cheered the announcementf aboutthe store.
“Jeff and Deane Pfeill have a record of success in Troy and I am sure that this new ventur e will succeedas well,” Tutunjian “The residents of Troy will benefitr from having a well stocked urban hardwarew store in the heart of the city.” The openingf of Pfeil Hardware, whicjh is tentatively set for September, will returh retailing to a downtown building that had long servef as the home of Stanley’s departmenrt store. The building sat empty for years before the Pfeilxs bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxurgy apartments they call The All but two of the apartments were occupief as ofJuly 1.
The Pfeils declined to say how much they spenytin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they lease d the first floor space to another tenant. Leass rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourt h quarterof 2008, according to CB Richardc Ellis/Albany.