Ace Hardware breaks ground on Plant City distribution center
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 1, 2020

Ace Hardware is about to begin construction on its new 710,000-square-foot distribution center in Plant City.

The new warehouse, which will support 200 retail locations, is a major expansion for Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware. The company is nearly doubling its footprint in the Tampa area; its current facility in East Tampa is 390,212 square feet.

Plans for the relocation first went public in June.

A joint venture of Blue Steel Development and Aspyre Properties is the developer of the new warehouse, which is on County Line Road. Construction will commence this month and wrap up in November 2021.

"This relocation will enable faster service for Ace retailers and ultimately our valued customers,” Lori Bossmann, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer for Ace Hardware, said in a statement.

The project will create 200 construction jobs, and the company expects to employ at least 162 full-time equivalent employees in Plant City — 119 of whom will relocate from the East Tampa facility.

“Development activity along County Line Road continues to generate great employment and economic development opportunities for our city, its residents and our neighbors," Plant City Mayor Rick Lott said in a statement.