Last fall, Lowe’s, the home improvement store superpower, started construction on one of their massive stores in San Francisco.
The Lowe’s is being built at 491 Bayshore Blvd, the very location where the locally owned Goodman Lumber once stood, and where a Home Depot was planned before the economy soured. Concrete is already being poured for the big-box retailer’s walls, but local business owners and residents haven’t given up on voicing their concerns with the future of their shops and neighborhood, even as Lowe’s argues they’ll be great for the city. What do you think?
Concerns raised by local businesses:
— Lowe’s will steal customers from local business across the city, and won’t make up for the lost jobs or tax revenue.
— Lowe’s is a big store (about the size of two football fields according to article), and the whole scale of Bayshore Blvd could be changed, resulting in more big-box businesses coming in.
— Rick Karp, owner of Cole Hardware, claims that this kind of situation usually hurts local business by 25-30%.
Arguments presented in support of for Lowe’s
— Lowe’s may bring foot traffic to the area and it’s businesses.
— Lowe’s says they will hire a large percentage of their staff from zip codes surrounding the area.
— Lowe’s possible added foot traffic will help local businesses of similar interest in the area, which sell “specialty” items of a higher quality and variety.
