Ace Hardware coming to Priceville next Spring
By Jean Cole
For the Enquirer
Priceville will be getting an Ace Hardware store with six to eight new employees by next spring, according to developer Town Centre Group LLC.
Some site work has already begun for the $2.6 million, 12,000-square-foot building going up off Marco Drive, said Brandon Price, president of Building Construction Associates Inc. of Decatur, who is building the store for Town Centre.
The store will be at 66 Marco Drive, which is between Family Security Credit Union and Super 8 by Wyndham Hotel, he said. Opening is planned for March 1, barring any unforeseen delays, Price said. They plan a groundbreaking ceremony in the next week or so. Price and the developer believe a hardware store is needed there.
“It should be a great addition to the city,” Price said. “If you think of the entire whole eastern side of the county there is no hardware store at all in that area. There are some automotive stores but no hardware stores – no place to buy screws and bolts and lumber. You’ve got to go all the way to Decatur; the closest thing is Home Depot.” Priceville Mayor Sam Heflin said he will be glad to have the store and the tax revenue it will bring.
“It is a highly anticipated and much-needed store and I’m excited to see it coming,” he said.
Although the new Ace will be a metal building, it will be a “really fancy” one, Price said.
It will look fancy because of the non-metal exterior finishes that will be used, including stone and a product called exterior insulation and finishing system, or EIFS. He said the finishes on Jimmy Smith Jewelers – which replaced the Ace Hardware in Decatur that closed more than a decade ago – are similar.
BCA is trying to get the site work done before the pieces of the metal building arrive for construction.
“It’s a pretty simple footprint,” Price said. “The plans are basically the same across the board. We just adapt to that and try to get the site work in while we are waiting for the building – get asphalt, curb and gutter done and then hopefully when the building shows up it is ready to land on the slab.” Although BCA has several projects in the works in Decatur, Price said he is happy to have the work in Priceville.
“We built the Priceville recreation center beside town hall, and so it’s another project in our backyard,” Price said. “We are tickled to get it and to bring more development to the city.” Other ongoing construction and renovation proj-ects by BCA in Decatur include the Barrett Upholstery building on Lee Street Northeast, the Morgan County-Decatur Farmers Market at 211 First Ave. S.E., STEAM Imagination Center for Calhoun Community College and Green-Point Ag, a wholesale and retail agronomy company that is moving its headquarters downtown.
Price’s father, Mike, was one of the first builders in Priceville 30 years ago and he has since developed a half dozen subdivisions there. Development is a rewarding career because one can see the difference one makes, Brandon Price said. “You get to see where the land was then and where it is today,” he said. “It just gives you a sense of pride to be able to add more great buildings to Priceville and grow a small community.” Price credits his crew for the real work.
“I get to sign on the dotted line, but really it’s the guys in the field who bring these to life,” he said of the 30 to 40 workers who will build the hardware store. “They are the ones who sweat and bleed and bring it up.” Ace Hardware Corp. has announced plans to open more than 200 new stores by the end of the year. Globally, it has opened more than 900 new stores in the past five years. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, the 100-year-old company has over 5,800 locally owned and operated hardware stores in approximately 60 countries, according to Ace.
