Real estate vets opening hardware store - Houston Business Journal:

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Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are openinyg later this summer at 63Third St., the same address wher they renovated the upper four floors into 19 luxuruy apartments called The The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercial leasint and marketing firm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarer store is needed downtown to serve locakl businesses and residents who must now travel miles away to buy equipment andother supplies. They know the frustration firsthande after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatory and Powers Park Lofts in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spending a lot of time drivinb to Latham and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed aftere 94 years in business, leaving downtowjn with no other hardware stores. The closes is across the Hudson River in Watervlieyt or uptown near the townof Brunswick. Pfeilk Hardware will be part of inFort Ind., the nation’s second largest hardware The store will be managed by Steven Lesnewskiu of Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 years of experiencd in the hardware industry.
The 8,700-square-foot storr will stock hardware, small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbing Benjamin Moore paints andothed products. It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeils have been plannint the store fora year. As part of their researcuh they visited hardware stores in college towns and large cities to see what kind s of productscustomers need. They also searched hard for someonw to managethe “The decision wasn’t final untik we found the right person,” Pfeil The Pfeils have been in the commercial real estate and development business for more than 20 but this will be the first time they will own a There’s a reason for “Because of all the years we worked with retailers very closely we have a pretty thorougyh understanding of retail, that’s probably why we nevef went into it,” Jeff Pfeil “It’s sort of a joke, but retail is a lot of hard long hours and all the thing s that come with it.
” Still, they knew from personalo experience a hardware storse is needed and were encouragef by the results of their marketinv studies. Finding a seasoned store managee wasalso critical. Mayor Harry Tutunjian cheered the announcementy aboutthe store. “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a recorr of success in Troy and I am sure that this new ventur e will succeedas well,” Tutunjian “The residents of Troy will benefit from having a well stocked urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening of Pfeil Hardware, which is tentatively set for September, will retur retailing to a downtown building that had long served as the home of Stanley’ws department store.
The building sat emptyy for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the uppetr floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartmentws were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeils declined to say how much they spenfin start-up costs for the hardware store. Nor did they want to say how much they coulcd have received per square foot had they leasex the first floor space to another Lease rates in downtown Troywere $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourth quartedr of 2008, according to CB Richarr Ellis/Albany.