New Lowes opening in St. John's County (St. Augustine: real estate, Home Depot)

[Caladium]

I'm intrigued to read that a 157,000-square-foot Lowe’s Home Center will open in two years at the U.S. 1 South site now occupied by St. Johns County’s Health & Human Services Center.

It's surprising because Lowe's is closing many of their stores around the country. Apparently they expect a lot of growth in St. Augustine area. Good to know. OK Costco--your turn! Not that I want to see an ocean of big box stores, but a Costco would be nice.\

http://staugustine.com/news/local-ne...r#.TrGOoXJ8eak

[ssclulow]

I totally do not understand this move by Lowes. It's a 5 minute walk from the property thay want to build on to the Home Depot which has been here approx. 9 years. Maybe they see it as a good real estate investment if the economy doesn't improve and they want to sell it for a profit.

[cricketfan]

Originally Posted by ssclulow

I totally do not understand this move by Lowes. It's a 5 minute walk from the property thay want to build on to the Home Depot which has been here approx. 9 years.

It's a good move ... good for the consumer. Competition. Market share. The same reason Walgreens builds across from CVS.

[madcapmagishion]

Its the same almost everywhere else, Lowe's builds a new place and within a year Home Depot builds a new place within a mile or so. Or Home depot builds a new place and Lowes builds within a mile of it. Regency Square is a good example. And cricketfan is correct it is good for the consumer.

[Caladium]

Agreed. When Lowes opened up near the Home Depot here, suddenly the HD was stocked with all sorts of things, the aisles were cleaner and better organized, and they may even have had more special deals.

This new Lowes is near where 312 crosses the river, right? If so, do you think backed up bridge traffic could be a future problem?