Jerry Walker figures he’s asked how construction of the new Home Hardware is going between six and eight times a day. 

 

It’s not surprising: construction of the 16,000-square-foot building has been underway since May of this year on County Road 21, a well-travelled road in the county. 

 

The new store is set to open in early April 2019, he says. 

 

On Friday, Nov. 9, Walkers Home Hardware owners Dale and Jerry Walker met with Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott at their County Road 21 location to talk about progress on the store. 

 

“It’s a good sign,” Scott said of the new site, which will include a garden and outdoor living centre and will make room inside for additional hardware, tool and giftware lines. The parking lot will have space for 75 cars. 

 

Scott said the expansion means more jobs, both in building the new store and in staffing the space, and shows confidence in the Haliburton economy. 

 

The Walkers’ Home Hardware Appliance Center will remain a separate entity in the Beer Store Plaza. 

At the beginning of February, Home Hardware staff will be able to start preparing the space for business, which will give them a couple of months before the public can expect to start shopping.

Dale said there will be an exclusive preview night with food, entertainment and prizes. They will open to shoppers the next day.

 

She said she wanted to make it a special community event, with ticket sales raising money for Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation. 

 

Jerry expects the walls on the new store will be up within a week and a half with the space enclosed in early December. At that point, the Walkers said they will be able to give another update on their progress.