Closures
On Wednesday, August 24, 2011, after 16 years of selling “Good stuff … cheap” – as the company's motto goes – Building 19 said goodbye to Nashua, New Hampshire. The chain store couldn't come to terms on its lease with the property owner, AS-VR Realty LLC of Londonderry, New Hampshire. Chain founder Jerry Ellis said nothing had been planned yet, but Building 19 hoped to open another store in southern New Hampshire in the future. About 30 employees were laid off because the company was unable to relocate them, Building 19 officials said. Building 19 had opened in Nashua in 1995.
It is unknown what retail store will replace Building 19. No development proposal has been submitted to the city planning department for the location. Walmart famously lost its bid to open a store at the 420 Amherst Street location in 2006 – while Building 19 still had a lease there. Residents and environmental groups complained that the footprint of the proposed 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) Walmart store would exceed the boundaries of the property, potentially causing traffic jams and harming the nearby Pennichuck Brook watershed, part of the city's drinking water supply. The city Planning Board agreed, and rejected the Walmart proposal. Building 19 continued its lease, until near the end of August. Building 19 still has a store in Manchester, eight outlets in Massachusetts and two in Rhode Island. The Nashua store was their 15th location.
Read more about this topic: Building 19