The Home Depot (Atlanta) has revealed plans to open at two New York locations before the end of the year.
One of the stores will be in a new tower going up on Third Avenue at 59th Street, near Bloomingdale’s. A second will occupy three lower floors of two late-19th-century cast-iron buildings on 23rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, in what New York calls the Ladies’ Mile historic district.
Though neither will be large enough for a lumberyard — one of Home Depot’s signature elements –customers will be able to order lumber for delivery in Manhattan. So will even small items, a Manhattan requisite. So forget parking: “Our stores will definitely be pedestrian-oriented,” said John Costello, executive vp, merchandising and marketing.
Costello told The New York Times that it was too early to give specifics on square footage and other details, including the extent of design services like those offered at Home Depot Expo Design Centers. But he did say that the stores will offer how-to clinics tailored for apartment dwellers more oriented around decorating than, say, replacing gutters and hot water tanks. “We’ll still teach basic tool skills as well as faux painting,” he said. And, Costello said, the new stores will stock cabinets and appliances geared from the “compact for the first condo to extra large for the prewar co-op.”
“We feel the time is right,” he said, citing the number of Manhattan residents and contractors who now travel to the other boroughs and beyond for renovation supplies. Also, Bed Bath & Beyond (Union, N.J.) is about to open its third Manhattan store, and The Container Store (Dallas ) and Room and Board (Minneapolis) are putting stakes down with relatively big boxes in New York.
The new Home Depots will allow contractors to order supplies in Midtown and have them delivered to job sites. Stores like Gracious Home say they will compete by providing personalized services, tracking down special products not available in big-box stores and helping shoppers solve problems.
The Home Depot’s only other downtown location opened a year ago in Chicago. It has been well received, Costello said, although he declined to provide The Times with figures on sales and revenue.