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Opened 254,000 square foot store in Eden Prairie, MN in Summer of 2020
NEW SCHEELS LOCATIONS OPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The construction of the wildlife mountain inside the Colorado Springs, CO location
In Summer of 2020, just four months after opening the SCHEELS location in The Colony, TX, another flagship store was opened in Eden Prairie, MN. "We actually stripped [the old Sears space] down, expanded it, and made it our own," says Project Leader Josh Remer. "Today, you would never know that it was a previous building, other than a SCHEELS store." A new 220,000 square foot location opened in Colorado Springs in March 2021. The building features a Sage Glass ceiling, which is e-chromatic glass that tints ahead of the position of the sun. There are two panes of glass that have a gap in between them. A low voltage wire runs to each piece of glass and charges the gas for tint. The glass, which is made in Faribault, MN, has gone into 5 SCHEELS buildings to date. The construction of the Colorado Springs store also included 1,592 tons of steel, 5,888 light fixtures, 136,000 bricks, 20 semi loads of insulation, and 165,000 lbs of HVAC ductwork.
"The entire building process takes two to three years before we open our doors to the public," says VP of Store Development Jason Loney. There are a lot of questions that have to be considered, including the location of the store, the design, and working with the engineers and architects. "Internally, we're working with our buyers who have researched what products will be best for that specific market," says Loney. "We work a lot with our developers, who are partners, whether they're [helping us find] land where we can build the store, or pre-existing space for renovations and expansions. Once we get rolling, it's all about working with the local contractors and the city officials to have a smooth process– so the minute we announce our Grand Opening date, we're going to hit that date and have a good experience for the customer.”
When it comes to the process of opening a new store, there are many moving pieces that help bring everything together for the Store Development team.
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