Fulton Heights hardware a small step closer to relocation in new concept Ace store

It’s moving only a block away, but longtime merchant Rylee’s Ace Hardware will be moving way up in style.

The new 33,000-square-foot building at 1234 Michigan is incorporating some of Ace Hardware’s new design concepts, testing out new colors, signage and layout for the brand says Matthew Jamrog, Rylee’s vice president of operations and human resources.

The existing store at 1121 Michigan and the Ace Fix-it Shop across the street will move to the new location for an April 2010 opening.

The structural steel is complete, the exterior walls are in place, the roof decking is on and crews have installed the roof membrane. Excavators have begun leveling the interior floor. Temporary power inside the structure is up and running.

“I think the new store will be a combination of the traditional Rylee’s Ace Hardware store that people have known and loved,” Jamrog says. “But it’s all the new concepts and trends too; like an outdoor garden center, a first for us, to serve the downtown community. We’re going to have expanded product lines, expanded sporting goods and our Fix-It Shop all in one location and all on one level.”

About 1,600 square feet of retail space is available for lease in the new building. Jamrog says Rylee’s is working on the final stages of commitment from “interested parties” but wouldn’t divulge who those parties are or what type of business plans to set up shop.

ROI Design handled the design. Pinnacle Construction is the construction manager.

Jamrog says there are no current plans for the existing store and Fix-it Shop, which are both available for purchase or lease.

Source: Matthew Jamrog, Rylee’s Ace Hardware

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Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.