Home Depot buys 22 acres in East Manatee for $7.9 million

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the sales price and total acreage purchased.

EAST MANATEE -- Near a bevy of travel-stop options at the corner of State Road 64 East and Interstate 75, Home Depot is on its way to East Manatee County.

In July, Home Depot finalized its decision to build a store in East Manatee County when Home Depot USA Inc. purchased almost 22 acres of land for $7.9 million, according to Manatee County property records released Wednesday. The store will be built at the corner of State Road 64 East and Morgan Johnson Road.

The purchase was split between two transactions and eight parcels of land. The store is planned for a 3-acre piece. Crews were busy at work on Wednesday clearing trees and brush to prepare the site for construction of the store. The purchase gives Home Depot plenty of outparcel space around the future store and signs are up on the site advertising those parcels for sale.

Home Depot, a home improvement store chain that started in 1979, is based in Atlanta. Stephen Holmes, director of corporate communications, told the Herald in an email: “We purchased the extra land, but haven’t finalized any specific plans yet.”

Meridien Research, a medical research company, used to have an office on the land Home Depot is developing. Stephanie Jones, director of marketing for Meridien in Tampa, said Home Depot’s development coincided with Meridien’s own business expansion plans.

“We acquired Florida Clinical Research Center and the timing just worked out that, as we were moving into the new location, the land was being purchased,” Jones said. Meridien’s Bradenton location is now at 8043 Cooper Creek Blvd.

Parcels in nearby Morgan Johnson Commerce Park are up for sale and Diane Lawson, with Sperry Van Ness Commercial Advisory Group, has told the Herald that though the park is not associated with Home Depot, the home improvement giant’s choice to build close by can only help sell those properties.

"It really is a great location and the Home Depot will help bring a lot of traffic to that area," said Lawson. "They are essentially one-acre vacant sites that are shovel-ready with all infrastructure in place. That's not an easy thing to find anymore."

Edward Allen, site development consultant for Greenberg Farrow Architecture, also told the Herald the store won’t look like other Home Depot locations. He said it will feature a better design and will include an onsite rental facility and a Penske Truck rental location.

On Tuesday, Home Depot posted record sales and earnings during its second quarter and raised its profit expectations for the year as the U.S. housing market continues to warm up. The home improvement retailers have been a bright spot as other shops like department stores are seeing sales slow, hurt by consumers who’ve shifted away from buying clothing and more toward experiences, fixing up their houses and services like spas, the Associated Press reported.

Home Depot’s profit jumped 9 percent to $2.44 billion, or $1.97 per share, edging out Wall Street expectations by a penny, according to analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Sales surged 6.6 percent to $26.47 billion, also slightly better than expected. Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 4.7 percent. The measure is a key indicator of a retailer’s health.

Business was strong across the board, led by appliances, which enjoyed double-digit percentage sales increases in sales at stores opened at least a year. One key reason for Home Depot’s confidence: Transactions over $900, which represent about 20 percent of its U.S. sales, rose 8.1 percent in the quarter.

Home Depot also has seen notable strength from its professional customers like plumbers and electricians. Sales from this segment grew faster than the average company’s sales at stores opened at least a year. Furthermore, the gap between the highest- and lowest-spending professional is narrowing.

The company is also expanding its online services and sprucing up its mobile features. Online sales rose 19 percent and represented 5.6 percent of total sales in the latest quarter.

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Home Depot buys 22 acres in East Manatee for $7.9 million."