[mustmove]

Home Depot gave up the fight in Barre last year, now Lowe's has done the same. in St. Albans.
Lowe’s not coming here
Written By Michelle Monroe
Thursday, December 24, 2009
ST. ALBANS TOWN — Lowe’s Home Center has withdrawn its application to build a store in St. Albans Town.

The company sent a one sentence letter to the town requesting withdrawal of its application to build a 122,000-square-foot store adjacent to the Price Chopper on Route 7-North in the town’s growth zone.
Schedule for December 2009 (http://www.samessenger.com/NewsView.asp?ID=5739 - broken link)

[Logs and Dogs]

Do you consider this a good thing?

[OhBeeHave]

My take is that in this current economic climate, the construction investment in the area (given the requirements in the watershed) won't generate the return that Lowe's seeks. Stinks, given the fact that in September they claimed it was an underserved area.

[mustmove]

I don't consider it a good thing, but many VTers disagree. HD and Lowes quit because of the permitting process not the economy. Who is VT going to chase out next? There is a thread about what chains folks would like in VT. Good luck getting new ones, best hope the old ones stay.

[Logs and Dogs]

I asked about the interpretation of this news because I don’t understand how a faction of “Vermonters” can so consistently speak out of both sides of their mouths. On one hand they complain vigorously about how there need to be more high paying jobs that match the skill sets of the typical rural Vermonter (however you choose to define that) and then on the other hand a company like Lowes or HD comes in and they chase them out of the state. Additionally, many of these same people will complain about the high cost of living in Vermont……..well since I just built a house I can speak to the fact that everyone would go broke if they bought everything to build from their local hardware store. Believe me I spread the coin around as best I could but paying 20% more at a True Value vs. Lowes in NH doesn’t make a lot of sense for most people.

Yet here we are, another company chased out of VT that could have provided a year or more of construction jobs, year-round employment for a hundred people or so, plus trucking jobs, plus serve as a job pipeline for many small contractors through their contractor programs. I wish supporting local hardware and retails shops 100% of the time was practical these days, but given that the average family is struggling with income right now, if you buy all your products from 100% local sources you are hitting yourself in the wallet, hard.

I’m all for supporting local farms, shops etc. but there has to be a balance between supporting local small business and making prudent financial decisions.

[momnh]

Who knows...maybe Lowes pulled out because their business got hit hard from the recession and they are scaling back expansion plans. Maybe it is not a good idea to open so many stores each year..

[mustmove]

Originally Posted by momnh

Who knows...maybe Lowes pulled out because their business got hit hard from the recession and they are scaling back expansion plans. Maybe it is not a good idea to open so many stores each year..

Nope. It is Vermont's permitting process that stopped them in their tracks, which is exactly what the process is designed to do. As Logs points out you can't have it both ways. Enjoy the woodlot that would have been a Lowes and the empty already existing building in Barre that would have been a HD. Try not to miss the jobs, product selection, and low prices.

[GrnMtnFire]

Originally Posted by momnh

Who knows...maybe Lowes pulled out because their business got hit hard from the recession and they are scaling back expansion plans. Maybe it is not a good idea to open so many stores each year..

Keep living in that fantasy world. It is all about the long drawn out permitting process....storm water permits, traffic patterns etc...
The special interest groups (IE The few) are affecting the public (IE The many).

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by GrnMtnFire

Keep living in that fantasy world. It is all about the long drawn out permitting process....storm water permits, traffic patterns etc...
The special interest groups (IE The few) are affecting the public (IE The many).

Really? Fantasy world? I know of several commercial real estate deals in South Florida that fell through because these kinds of chains decided it didn't make sense to open more stores for exactly the reasons momnh described. But don't let other realities, such as the pervasive nationwide economic climate, rain on your parade of trashing Vermont.

[mustmove]

You will never hear a company badmouth a state even if they have decided not to do business in that state. However VT being a small place it isn't unlikely to know the handful of folks who work on permitting for large projects and hear the reasons behind such decisions. All that land use stuff is great, but you can't have it both ways. Enjoy local.