By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green Planning Director Heather Sayler is frequently asked what the city did to turn away Menards from building here.
Her answer is always the same – nothing.
“We get asked that on a regular basis,” Sayler said on Thursday.
So when she received a letter recently from a citizen blaming the city for blocking Menards from moving to Bowling Green, Sayler called the company to make sure it was still planning to build a store here.
“We’re absolutely building in Bowling Green,” Sayler said the company representative told her. “It’s a matter of when we build, not if we build there,” he said.
The company is still planning a 207,893 square foot building on the south end of the city – just south of Walmart and across South Main Street from Home Depot.
Menards has been focusing on its operations side – not expansion – during COVID, Sayler was told. The company built only one new site during the pandemic, and that was because it had already been started in February of 2020.
Menards still has no new construction scheduled, but the company official assured Sayler that Menards has every intention to build on the land it purchased on South Main Street.
When it does finally open, the company plans on bringing 125 to 250 jobs – some full, some part-time.
The rumors surrounding the suspected Menards pullout, often involve claims that the city would not work with the company’s needs. That simply is not true, Sayler said.
Three waivers were approved for the company in 2019 by the Bowling Green Planning Commission.
Thomas O’Neil, who works on real estate acquisitions for Menards, explained the company’s requests in 2019.
The first waiver involved parking spaces. A typical Menards store has about 400 parking spaces. However, the city standards require 693 based on the size of the store.
While other large retailers build vast parking lots to meet the Christmas rush, Christmas is not Menards’ peak sales period, O’Neil stated in the request.
“Menard Inc.’s busy season is actually two seasons, spring and summer, during which time we have a steady stream of customers, and not a single spike as other retailers enjoy at Christmas,” O’Neil said.
Menards does not generate the same type of high traffic volumes as general retailers, like WalMart or Meijer, he said. The total floor area at Menards includes large display and warehousing areas, plus larger aisles for maneuvering bulky items.
“These features contribute to the large building square footage and make building size a poor indicator of parking needs,” O’Neil stated.
A second waiver was requested for the parking lot landscaping and long-length island requirement. O’Neil asked that the landscaped islands be at the end of the parking rows. End islands, rather than length-wise islands, work better for the many customers driving larger pickup trucks with trailers.
“Parking lot maneuverability will be aided significantly by the approval of the waiver request,” O’Neil stated.
O’Neil said the company is willing to plant trees surrounding the parking lot, plus additional trees around the retention pond, along the drive to the lumberyard, and along South Main Street.
In total, O’Neil committed to 66 trees being planted on the site. The trees will be based on the city arborist’s specifications.
The third waiver involved the detention pond setback at the side property line. Grading for the pond begins 10 feet from the side property line.
Variances from three city sign regulations had already been granted. Menards officials requested a 40-foot sign along South Main Street that exceeds the city’s maximum height of 25 feet. Store officials were also granted a variance to the city ordinance that allows up to three signs on the exterior of the building.
