Lowe’s makes its move on San Francisco

Home Depot’s 10-year battle to open a store in San Francisco may have cleared the path for its main rival, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. The newspaper reported that Lowe’s has signed a provisional lease to open a 107,000-square-foot store on Bayshore Boulevard, on the same site where Home Depot gained approval for a new unit after battling with community activists and local businesses for more than a decade. The Atlanta retailer then withdrew its plans as part of its new store cutbacks last May.

According to the Chronicle, Lowe’s has tentatively agreed to abide by all the provisions set forth in Home Depot’s agreement with municipal and county authorities: a $750,000 contribution to work force training for neighborhood residents; a $100,000 contribution to the San Francisco day labor programs; and a promise to hire half of the retail employees and a quarter of the construction positions from the neighborhood. 

The proposed project, once the site of Goodman Lumber, is located in an economically depressed area of the city. Construction could begin as early as October, with an opening in August 2010, the newspaper reported.