Where farmers once brought thousands of cattle and hogs to market, contractors and do-it-yourselfers now pick up tools and building materials.
Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, opened its first Sioux City store Feb. 2 at the site of the city's former stockyards.
The 102,000-square-foot warehouse and 35,000-square-foot garden center anchors the $12 million Yards Town Centre, a new commercial center designed to rejuvenate an economically depressed part of town.
The 115-year-old Sioux City stockyards, once the nation's largest livestock terminal, closed in 2002 after its New York owners sold the 30-acre site to the Yards Town Centre developer, Omaha-based Dial Realty Corp.
It took nearly five years for the project to come to fruition. To great fanfare, Home Depot first announced plans to build in Sioux City in 2001. But the Atlanta-based retailer got cold feet just before demolition of the former covered livestock pens was set to begin. An operations official with the company put the plans on hold after questioning the selection of a site in an aging industrial area.
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"The biggest hurdle initially was envisioning the stockyards as a retail location," said Dave DeLach, a Home Depot real estate manager who backed the project from the beginning. Dial Realty president Bob Welstad "and I were able to get our executives comfortable with the location, even though it wasn't a traditional retail site. I firmly believed, as Bob did, that strategically there was no finer piece of real estate to serve our customers."
As part of a public-private partnership, the city spent some $4 million to demolish the livestock pens and construct new utilities, streets and other infrastructure. In return, the developer agreed to a minimum property tax assessment of $11 million.
The investment is expected to jump start the rejuvenation of a blighted part of town, and generate tens of thousands of dollars in added sales and property taxes.
The new store also boosted the local economy with the hiring of more than 100 full- and part-time employees. Store manager Jim Henry, previously an operations manager for a Home Depot in Omaha, said his talented new team represents most every walk of life. "We have people that worked in construction, framing, remodeling, many areas of home improvement," he said. "We also have people who have great sales backgrounds and are very good with people."
The Sioux City store features the company's most modern floor plan, with redesigned departments. The warehouse is stocked with more than 40,000 home improvement items, from lumber and drywall to paint and flooring to light fixtures and cabinetry. Thousands more SKUs can be ordered at the store or online at http://www.HomeDepot.com.
'Design Place' a focal point
A focal point of the store is "The Design Place" which offers all the home decor products in one location. Customers can find exclusive brands like Disney paints, Thomasville cabinetry and Ridgid power tools. Design Place experts offer free design and decorating advice and ideas.
Another service desk focuses on various installation projects, from cabinetry and countertops to windows and garage doors. In addition to offering advice to do-it-yourselfers, the department helps line up installation services for those who prefer to hire a professional.
Other store features include an appliance showroom featuring national brands like Maytag, General Electric and Hotpoint and an enclosed garden center that offers everything from begonias to patio furniture.
A number of Siouxlanders previously shopped at Home Depots in cities like Sioux Falls and Omaha. From a single store that opened in Atlanta in 1978, the business has grown into the world's largest home improvement retailer, with some 2,000 orange-clad locations throughout North America. Each week more than 22 million people visit one or more of the locations.
In addition to being No. 1 in home improvement merchandise, the chain is the second largest U.S. retailer overall, behind only Wal-Mart, and one of the top sellers of home appliances. In 2004, Home Depot had sales of some $73 billion.
The Sioux City Home Depot, 415 Cunningham Drive, is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Journal business editor Dave Dreeszen can be reached at (712) 293-4211 or davedreeszen@siouxcityjournal.com
Free clinics weekly
The new Sioux City Home Depot store sponsors free weekly clinics to help customers learn how to do such projects as fix a toilet and lay tile.
The first Saturday of each month, the store hosts clinics geared specifically for children. With the help of an adult, they can build such items as birdhouses and toolboxs.
For a schedule of clinics at the store, check the company's weekly advertising supplements or log on to: http://www.homedepot.com
