Tool retailer expects to locate in Buckhannon
BUCKHANNON — Coming next year, a well-known tool retailing store will be added to the list of businesses in Upshur County.
According to Ted Donald, executive vice president of PennTex Ventures, Harbor Freight Tools will be located in the plot of land near Lowe’s along Route 20. The new business will be housed in a proposed 15,000-square-foot building.
During a phone interview, Donald told The Inter-Mountain, “We’re closing in on the land, probably today or tomorrow. … It’s a process.”
He then said the first week of December will consist of utility extension, relocations and actual on-site work.
“Immediately upon completion of that work, we will begin the process of constructing the building, which will all be done in accordance with the weather,” Donald said.
He noted the goal is for Harbor Freight to be opened to the public sometime in late spring of 2018.
Currently, there are three Harbor Freight locations in West Virginia — Charleston, Vienna and Ceredo.
“From a developer perspective, we are very happy about the opportunity to do business in Buckhannon,” said Donald. “We think it’s a very strong community and we look forward to being a part of it.”
The tool and equipment store, which is based out of Calabasas, California, has 800 locations nationwide and more than 40 million satisfied customers, according Harbor Freight’s website. The retail chain offers more than 7,000 tools and accessories.
Harbor Freight offers anything “from hand tools and generators, to air and power tools, from shop equipment to automotive tools,” noted the website.
“We buy direct from the same factories who supply the expensive brands and pass the savings on to you,” states the website.