The Home Depot to bring 100 jobs to county

The late fall opening of The Home Depot on the former Evans Middle School site will bring about 100 new jobs to Columbia County, company officials say.

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Company spokeswoman Nekeidra Taylor said plans call for the store to open by year's end with the need for about 100 workers.

She cited "strong growth and income" levels in the area as factors in the decision to open a new location.

The store won't affect operations at The Home Depot on Bobby Jones Expressway in Richmond County, she said.

"The (new) store will be roughly the same size as the Bobby Jones location; however, (it will be) a new prototype format," she said.

Workers have cleared the site and are preparing the base for the 102,000-square-foot home improvement center and 28,000-square-foot garden center.

Officials with Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial, a member of Evans Middle Partners, the site developer, confirmed plans for the store April 30.

The 25-acre retail development will be called Evans Town Square and will have about 170,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Five smaller lots with space for restaurants and stores will face Belair Road, and a 48,000-square-foot tenant will sit next to The Home Depot on the western end of the property, according to a site plan filed with the county.

Developers have also proposed two traffic signals to provide access to the site.

One signal would be at Peachtree and North Belair roads at the Evans Cinemas 14 entrance, and another at Washington and Evans-to-Locks roads, according to the site plans.

The parcel is the former site of Evans Middle School, which Blanchard and Calhoun bought with Atlanta-based Abernathy and Timberlake Investment Group LLC for $4.8 million in March 2005.

Vic Mills, Matt Mills and Mark Senn with Blanchard and Calhoun did not immediately return messages regarding the project.

The Home Depot will be the latest home improvement giant to open in Evans. Its chief rival, Lowe's, opened a store across the street in January.

In other business news, Tractor Supply Co. is scheduled to open a new store on a parcel at Kroger and Washington roads in Martinez, according to a county document.

At a Thursday meeting of the county planning commission, board members approved a request by developers Dennis and Bill Trotter to display goods outside a planned store.

The Columbia County Commission must now agree to that request at its meeting next Tuesday.

SITE PLAN

- Click here to see the Evans Home Depot site plan (.pdf version, requires Adobe Reader)