OAKHURST — Construction appears poised to begin on the mountain area’s first Tractor Supply Co. store, the popular farm and ranch retailer that announced six months ago it was coming to Oakhurst.
The construction site off Highway 49 where Tractor Supply will soon begin building its first mountain area location
While some unexpected delays in closing the deal have had project developers tight-lipped recently, SNO has learned that plans for the new location remain in place — with cash registers now expected to start ringing sometime in late 2020 or early 2021.
TSC spokesperson Niki Giacchina confirmed this past April that the company “will be opening a new store in Oakhurst.”
At the time, Giacchina said company officials were anticipating completing construction of the new location “sometime in 2020. Unfortunately, that’s about all I can tell you right now,” she added.
Multiple recent inquiries about the status of the project sent to the company’s Tennessee headquarters have gone unanswered but this week District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler confirmed the deal remains on track and TSC’s construction crew “should start moving dirt around at the site real soon.”
The centrally located development parcel, which is owned by Gary Brown, is already zoned for commercial activity.
“I actually just talked to the [Brown] family,” Wheeler said. “The deal should be closing escrow sometime this week.”
The building site is just across the highway from the CHP station and about a quarter mile east of True Value Home Center. Ground has been cleared and leveled at the site and several large tractors currently are parked on the otherwise vacant lot.
Brentwood, Tennessee-based Tractor Supply sells a wide variety of home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden, clothing, livestock and pet care products.
One of the country’s fastest-growing home-and-garden niche retailers, TSC currently operates about 1,800 stores in 49 states.
The company’s no-frills, warehouse-style stores are typically about 20,000 square feet, and include a large outdoor landscaping and garden sales area.
Tractor Supply, which owns and operates all of its stores, already has Valley locations in Clovis and Madera — and just opened a new store on Herndon Ave. near Highway 99 in Fresno.
The new store in Oakhurst will create 15 to 20 new local jobs.
When the deal was first announced six months ago, Giacchina said the company typically comes into new areas with “shovel-ready” plans that allow for speedy construction, “usually in 12 months or less.”
