Another former Rite Aid attracts new business, this time in University Place
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ace Retail Group will open a Westlake Ace Hardware at Green Firs Towne Center.
- The new Westlake Ace Hardware will exceed 17,000 sq ft and begin renovations late summer.
- Store services will include key cutting, automotive key fob replacement, propane.
Another former Rite Aid location is being repurposed for a new business, this time hardware.
Kansas City, Missouri-based Ace Retail Group announced June 11 that it plans to open a new Westlake Ace Hardware at the Green Firs Towne Center, 3840 Bridgeport Way W., in the former Rite Aid space.
The new store will feature more than 17,000 square feet of retail space, with renovations starting late summer. The site is anticipated to open early next year.
“We are excited to open a new Westlake Ace Hardware and are proud to bring the Ace Helpful Promise to the University Place community,” said Bob Massengill, president of Ace Retail Group in a statement.
According to a news release, the new store will feature the typical lawn-and-garden and hardware inventory and offer services such as key cutting, automotive key fob replacement, STIHL outdoor power-equipment repair, carpet-cleaning machine rental and propane tank exchange.
The store will have a kitchen section featuring gourmet foods, cookware, kitchen tools and linens.
The store will begin accepting applications for employment later this year. Interested applicants can email jobs@westlakehardware.com with “Westlake Ace – University Place, WA” in the subject line.
Ace Retail Group owns and operates five Dennis Company Ace and three Westlake Ace Hardware locations in Washington state, including at 2675 N. Pearl St. in the Westgate North Shopping Center.
The Green Firs Rite Aid was one of numerous Rite Aid locations to close last year amid the drugstore chain’s second bankruptcy in as many years, which also brought an end to its subsidiary business, former Seattle-based Bartell Drugs.
Last month The News Tribune examined what was happening at various former Rite Aid-Bartell sites in the area that were not snapped up by CVS Pharmacy in the bankruptcy proceedings. At the time, University Place Community and Economic Development director Kevin Briske told The News Tribune in response to questions that the city had been contact with the management company for the Green Firs storefront, but no applications had yet been submitted.
A former Bartell’s at 2700 Bridgeport Way in University Place has converted to a Kiddie Academy, a national franchise of educational child care centers.
