Home improvement giant Lowe's has expressed a desire to set up shop in Guelph, but the building of a store appears to be on hold.
The city first heard from the American firm, which operates over 40 stores in Canada, that it wanted to come to Guelph in 2014.
In early 2015 the company submitted an initial concept site plan with the city that would see a store between 10,500 and 14,500 square feet located at 129 Elmira Road. S., adjacent to the Costco superstore.
"We believe Guelph to be a great market and we are very excited to locate here," Lowe's representative Jeff Bird told Guelph City Council in February of 2015.
But while the lot has been graded, it remains barren of any construction activity.
Todd Salter, the city's general manager of Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise, said on Monday that he doesn't believe there is any particular issue holding the project up, other than timing.
Salter said the city received an initial site plan application which was sent back to Lowe's with some recommended changes, which is a normal chain of events. An approved site plan would be necessary prior to building.
But Salter said the city hasn't heard from Lowe's since.
The city website does not list an active development file for that address.
Lowe's politely declined to comment.
"We do not comment on any potential store growth transactions unless a deal is closed," said Lowe's spokesperson Valérie Gonzalo in an email.
