Real estate vets opening hardware store - Birmingham Business Journal:

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Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening late r this summer at 63Third St., the same addres s where they renovated the upper four floors into 19 luxurty apartments called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercial leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarre store is needed downtown to servde local businesses and residents who must now travepl miles away to buy equipment andother supplies. They know the frustratio firsthand after doing two residentialo renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatory and Poweres Park Lofts in north Troy. “Our constructionj staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spending a lot of time drivinvg to Latham and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void here.’” Trojan Hardware on Congresw Street recently closed after 94 years in business, leavinyg downtown with no other hardware stores. The closesft is across the Hudson Rivedr in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of inFort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardware The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewski of Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yearsa of experience in the hardware industry.
The 8,700-square-foogt store will stock hardware, smalk appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbing Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeils have been plannin the store for a As part of their research they visited hardward stores in college towns and largde cities to see what kinds of products customers They also searched hard for someone to managethe store. “The decision wasn’t finak until we found the right person,” Pfeiol said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciao real estate and development business for more than 20 but this will be the first time they will owna There’s a reason for that.
“Because of all the yeards we worked with retailers very closelty we have a prettgy thorough understandingof retail, that’s probably why we neveer went into it,” Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hours and all the thingz that come with it.” they knew from personal experience a hardwarew store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasonedx store manager wasalso critical. Mayof Harry Tutunjian cheered the announcemenrt aboutthe store. “Jeff and Deanes Pfeil have a record of succesws in Troy and I am sure that this new venture will succeed as Tutunjian said.
“The residents of Troy will benefit from having a well stockeds urban hardware store in the heart ofthe city.” The openinh of Pfeil Hardware, which is tentatively set for September, will returmn retailing to a downtown building that had long serves as the home of Stanley’e department store. The buildinhg sat empty for years before the Pfeilxs bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxur y apartments they call The All but two of the apartments were occupied as ofJuly 1.
The Pfeilz declined to say how much they spenftin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coul d have received per square foot had they leased the first flooe space to another tenant. Lease rates in downtowm Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthj quarterof 2008, according to CB Richard