Kent Building Supplies opens new store in Riverview

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Kent Building Supplies has opened a new store on Findlay Boulevard in Riverview, taking its place among other retailers and housing developments in a growing part of New Brunswick’s largest town.

“Customers are telling us that this is the store they’ve been waiting for, and it’s in the area where future developments will happen,” store manager Victor Bastarache said during a tour of the new store. He’s hoping it will become a destination for shoppers from Riverview and surrounding areas. The store opened a few weeks ago and will celebrate its official opening on Saturday.

Bastarache said the new store will have 44 associates, which includes the staff from the old store on Coverdale Road plus 10 new employees. Sonia Van Roestel, director of marketing for Kent Building Supplies, said the chain has 48 stores in Atlantic Canada, which are serviced by a huge distribution centre in Moncton’s Caledonia Industrial Park.

The Kent stores have the same basic layout, with a wide variety of building supplies, hardware, tools, lighting, plumbing and electrical components. The store has a garden centre, drive-thru lumber yard and specialty desks for paints, project planning and professional contractors. Bastarache said the staff can help customers plan their renovation or building projects and prepare an order for all the materials to have them delivered. Professional contractors can email their list for everything they need and have it waiting for them at the job site.

Van Roestel said Kent regularly surveys customers on their shopping experience, the types of merchandise they buy and the brands they prefer. In several departments, like power tools, the store carries multiple brands of the same types of products like drills, saws and sanders.

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The new store is at the corner of Findlay Boulevard and Gunningsville Boulevard, in the business district that was carved out of a forest 20 years ago and now includes Sobeys, NB Liquor, Dollarama, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware and several other businesses and services.

Riverview’s retail district is surrounded by residential subdivisions and new apartment buildings, with large areas of land for future development. A new apartment complex with three, six-storey buildings and a total of 375 units has been proposed for the empty lot at the nearby corner of Whitepine and Pine Glen.

Riverview has a population of just over 20,000 and is growing next to Moncton and Dieppe. Shanel Akerly, economic development officer for the town, said there is a growing demand for housing, services and job opportunities. The town recently completed a Commercial Market Threshold Study, which showed that residents want more health services, restaurants, coffee shops, clothing and shoes, personal care and tourism accommodations.

Akerly said the latest CMHC report shows Riverview’s vacancy rate at 0.7 per cent, and the demand for housing continues to rise. A Housing Needs Survey reflected concerns about affordable housing in the future.

“Due to Riverview’s ability to attract residents, access to available land, and open for business mindset, the town represents a huge opportunity for commercial development,” Akerly said. “It’s great to see businesses expanding their locations across town – there’s certainly room to grow here.”

The new Kent store replaces the one that has been on Coverdale Road since 2012. The building served as a Sobeys until the grocery chain moved to its new location on Findlay Boulevard. And now Kent has moved next door to the Sobeys. The now-unoccupied building on Coverdale Road has 50,000 square feet of retail and warehouse space and a 214-space parking lot. It is listed for sale at $5.8 million.