By By JAN GRIFFEY / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Officials of Lowe's Inc. have applied to Niles Township for a zoning variance, said Van Thornton, township zoning administrator.
Thornton said this morning Lowe's seeks to build a facility in Niles, just north of the Walmart.
With it is expected to come about 200 jobs to the Niles community, said one person involved in the property acquisition.
Maurice Pogoda of Pogoda Companies of Farmington Hills manages the Franklin Woods Mobile Homes Park and leases the property on which Franklin Woods is located.
He said a number of the residents in the park will be relocated because of the Lowe's project. However, all will be moved to comparable sites within the park.
Pogoda said he has been told by Lowe's officials the new store in Niles will employ about 200 workers. He said the property involved in the Lowe's acquisition includes property behind the Village Tub laundrymat, all of the undeveloped frontage on South 11th Street north of that and property behind the strip mall on South 11th Street which houses Papa John's Pizza and Mattress Warehouse.
Thornton said he doesn't know specifics about the Lowe's project. He and his office have received only preliminary site plans.
Chris Ahearn, a spokesperson with Lowe's Inc., located at the company's corporate headquarters in Wilkesboro, N.C., said this morning the company's policy is to not comment on potential store locations until the process is further along than the one proposed for Niles Township.
According to information on its website, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a $26 billion retailer of a complete line of home improvement products and equipment. The company serves more than seven million do-it-yourself and commercial business customers each week through 875 stores in 45 states. Lowe's is the world's second largest home improvement retailer and the 14th largest retailer in the U.S.
Lowe's is in the midst of an aggressive expansion plan, opening a new store on average every three days.
A Fortune 100 company, the 57-year-old company employs more than 130,000 people.