Depot's proposed urban store gets cool reception - testing new stores in 2 markets - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Oct 22, 2001 by Tanja Kern

Locals say the four-story big-box unit will cast a shadow over the neighborhood

CHICAGO -- Home Depot's new "urban" store concept seems like a golden opportunity for a big-box retailer to capture local hardware dollars. But some Chicago businesses and homeowners are urging the city not to sell their Lincoln Park and Lakeview locations to the highest bidder.

While Home Depot is keeping its plans close to the vest, residents in the area say the nation's largest home improvement retailer has chosen the 2600 block of N. Halsted Street, a bustling commercial and residential strip, for the location of one of two urban test stores to be opened (the other is in Brooklyn, N.Y.). The proposed Chicago store will be a four-story, 60,000- to 80,000-square-foot unit, with the first two levels allotted to retail space, while the upper levels would be devoted to customer parking, local business owners said.

Even at 80,000 square feet, the proposed urban stores would be about a third smaller than the typical Home Depot footprint.

However, many residents and neighborhood business owners are troubled by the prospect of this new format, saying that the store "doesn't fit" in their neighborhood, one that is dominated by small businesses.

The proposed Chicago location was once home to a Chernin's shoe store. After Chernin's left, one early proposal suggested mixed retail and residential use for the site. Residents now fear that a four-story retail building would overshadow most of the two- to three-story buildings in the neighborhood, which is home to many young urban professionals and longtime homeowners.

"There are no other corporate entities of the size and scope of the proposed Home Depot within this area," said resident David Klehr.

Not surprisingly, a pair of local True Value hardware store owners are among those concerned about the proposed store's potential impact on the neighborhood. Emmanuel Polyak, owner of Edward's True Value near the corner of Diversey and Halsted Streets in nearby Lakeview, said he's worried about the future of his business.

"Of course it will have a significant impact on my business," Polyak said. "I'm only a half a block away."

Lakeview is a sprawling neighborhood, just north of Lincoln Park. Known for its edgy shops, restaurants and bars, the neighborhood has a young, diverse population, and it also "doesn't need a Home Depot," business owners emphasized.

"I think we're pretty well serviced with the hardware stores that are already in the area," said Klehr, who lives just east of Halsted Street. "How many places of that size do you need? I just can't understand why people can't drive to the full Home Depot."

Home Depot operates a traditional warehouse store about a mile and a half from the proposed urban store site. At the same time, both the Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods boast their share of small, family owned hardware stores, and competition is already stiff -- three local retailers are located within three blocks of the proposed Depot store.

"It's inevitable that we will be affected, but I've survived so far," said Polyak, whose 3,400-square-foot store caters mainly to professional builders. "Over time they know us and trust us, but often they will be forced to go to a Home Depot because prices are inevitably lower. Every year I look at new niches from tiles to cabinets, [but] how many niches are there possibly?"

Polyak insists he's even more concerned about the future of the neighborhood. To him, parking is a major concern. Many of his customers park in the Walgreen's across the street and walk to his store.

"I'm parked in the loading zone of the restaurant next door, he noted on a day in early October. "Once their delivery comes, I'll have to move my car. Parking on Halsted is impossible."

Local officials say they understand those concerns, but they also say Home Depot didn't need to go through an arduous approval process because the site was already zoned retail. A community meeting scheduled for Sept. 10, when Home Depot representatives were supposed to answer questions from neighborhood residents and business owners, was canceled and never rescheduled.

"When I first heard about [the Home Depot urban concept], they said that the store would be tailored to high density, focusing on people in the neighborhood instead of customers driving in," explained Vi Daley, alderwoman for the ward in which the store will sit. She said that traffic is always a concern, but Home Depot said it would focus on attracting business from the immediate neighborhood, not customers coming in cars and vans.

Local hardware store owners assert that there simply isn't enough walk-in business to make that possible.

"Sure, neighborhood people come in on the weekends for their home projects, but it's mostly accounts," said Mike Krieger, owner of the Wahler Brothers True Value. Most of his customers are building maintenance people, janitors and contractors -- customers who drive in to pick up large items.

"One of my main concerns is traffic problems on Halsted, especially on Saturday and Sunday," Krieger said. He also worries that Home Depot might unload merchandise on crowded Halsted Street, instead of the alleyway behind the proposed store.