Real estate vets opening hardware store - Business First of Buffalo:

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Jeff Pfeil and Deane Pfeil are opening later this summefr at 63Third St., the same addressz where they renovated the upper four floores into 19 luxury apartmentzs called The Conservatory. The husband-and-wife team -- who own the commercialk leasing and marketingfirm Inc. in Saratoga Springs -- say a hardwarew store is needed downtowbn to serve local businesses and residents who must now traveol miles away tobuy tools, equipment and othedr supplies. They know the frustration firsthand after doing two residential renovation projects inthe city, the Conservatoru and Powers Park Loftsa in north Troy. “Our constructionb staff was running all over to pick up the JeffPfeil said.
“We were spendinyg a lot of time driving to Lathanm and I was hauling a lot from in We thought, ‘Gee, there’s a void Trojan Hardware on Congress Street recently closed after 94 years in leaving downtown with no other hardware The closest is across the Hudson River in Watervliet or uptown near the town of Pfeil Hardware will be part of in Fort Wayne, the nation’s second largest hardwar co-operative. The store will be managed by Stevem Lesnewskiof Pittsfield, Mass., who has more than 25 yeard of experience in the hardward industry.
The 8,700-square-foot store will stock small appliances, fasteners, electrical and plumbinb supplies, Benjamin Moore paints and other It won’t sell lumber. The Pfeilds have been planning the store fora year. As part of theier research they visited hardware stores in colleger towns and large cities to see what kinds of productsdcustomers need. They also searched hard for someone to managethe “The decision wasn’t final until we foun the right person,” Pfeipl said. The Pfeils have been in the commerciapl real estate and development businesw for more than20 years, but this will be the firstg time they will own a store. There’s a reasomn for that.
“Because of all the years we worked with retailersa very closely we have a pretty thoroughh understandingof retail, that’e probably why we never went into Jeff Pfeil said. “It’s sort of a but retail is a lot ofhard work, long hour s and all the things that come with Still, they knew from personal experiencs a hardware store is needed and were encouraged by the resultds of their marketing studies. Finding a seasoned store managet wasalso critical. Mayor Harryy Tutunjian cheered the announcement aboutthe “Jeff and Deane Pfeil have a record of successx in Troy and I am sure that this new venturwe will succeed as well,” Tutunjianb said.
“The residents of Troy will benefig from having a well stockef urban hardware store in the heart of the The opening ofPfeil Hardware, whichn is tentatively set for will return retailing to a downtownb building that had long servedd as the home of Stanley’s departmengt store. The building sat emptg for years before the Pfeils bought it and converted the upper floors into 19 luxury apartments they call The All but two of the apartment s were occupied as ofJuly 1. The Pfeilw declined to say how much they spenyin start-up costs for the hardware Nor did they want to say how much they coulc have received per square foot had they leased the first floor space to another tenant.
Lease rates in downtown Troy were $10 to $20 per square foot as of the fourthy quarterof 2008, according to CB Richards Ellis/Albany.