Home Depot at McIntyre Circle

The Home Depot is expected to present plans to build a store at the end of Blaisdell Avenue — within spitting distance of the Lowe's Home Improvement superstore under construction at Winnipesaukee Crossing — to the Planning Board in the near future. Blaisdell Avenue begins at McIntyre Circle, leaving Union Avenue (Laconia)/Lake Shore Road (Gilford) to the southeast.

No one in either municipality is speaking on the record, but The Daily Sun has learned that representatives of The Home Depot met recently with officials in both Gilford and Laconia to inform them of their plans. The store is planned for an 11.2-acre parcel in Gilford that is now owned by Irwin Marine, and would be partially served by a parking lot across the town line in Laconia. Since the land is in an industrial zone, a special exception will be required to put it to a commercial use.

Earlier this year The Daily Sun reported that representatives of The Home Depot met with officials of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, along with the planning and public works directors from Gilford and Laconia, in Concord to discuss the scope of the traffic study that would be required if the firm was to build in that vicinity.

Meanwhile, work on the Lowe's store is nearly complete and the shelves are expected to be stocked and the doors opened in the new year.

Both Lowe's and The Home Depot operate stores on Route 3 near Exit 20 in Tilton. The Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the world and the second largest retailer — after Wal-Mart – in the U.S. The company operates more than 2,100 stores, including more than 1,800 domestically, and produced 2005 revenues that totaled $81.5-billion.

Lowe's is also a giant company, operating 1,300 stores in 49 states. Its 2005 sales totaled $43.2-billion.