Gardener's Supply coming to Milton

By COURTNEY LAMDIN | Staff Writer
courtney@miltonindependent.com

By now, you’ve probably seen the mountainous heap of dirt along Route 7 at the Milton town line. Developers are planning to make that turned-up plot of land into the site of a 138,000-square foot warehouse and distribution center for Gardener’s Supply, a home and garden store based in Burlington.

Gardener’s is relocating to the 20-acre lot in Catamount Industrial Park from Essex, where its neighbor, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, plans to expand to a 500,000-square foot facility, taking over Gardener’s space, said Peter Gaylord, director of distribution for Gardener’s Supply.

Landlord Bob Miller, president of Miller Realty and REM, the development company, said Gardener’s happily gave up their space.

“It kind of worked out for both, because this allows Gardener’s to also expand in physical size,” Miller said.

Milton’s Development Review Board approved the warehouse and a future 30,000 square foot addition. The new building’s layout will be nearly identical to the Essex facility, Gaylord said, with more space for storage and with a more energy efficient heating and cooling system.

The company will also spend more than $80,000 on landscaping, exceeding the town’s required 1 percent minimum of the development cost, which Miller figures in around $7,000,000. Plans show 21 types of plants, shrubs and trees, including extra pine trees to shield residents’ view from Gonyeau Road, where an entrance is planned for loading trucks. Employees will enter via Route 7, across from R.R. Charlebois.

The historic Stannard House, named for Civil War Gen. George Stannard and built circa 1840, was purchased with the land.

Because the house is on the state’s historic register, Miller must get permission from the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation before renovating or demolishing the structure which once housed the Battle of Gettysburg hero, according to Devin Colman, a historic building expert at the state.

Stannard previously had a barn that accommodated his handicap – he lost an arm in battle – but those were torn down in 1989. The house was added to the register in 1980, according to state records.

Frank Cioffi, president of the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, which owns the park and sold the lots to Miller, said it would cost more than $500,000 just to fix up the place, which is zoned industrial, so not even administrative offices could be housed there.

GBIC once researched installing a memorial in place of the house but never went far with those plans, Cioffi said. The Stannard House will likely remain, Miller said: “It doesn’t impact the project sitting there off to the side,” he said.

The Milton location will be Gardener’s fifth. The company has been in business 28 years and has corporate offices in Burlington, two retail stores in Williston and a manufacturing facility in Georgia.

About 90 percent of the company’s sales are direct to consumer, with more orders coming through phone, mail and online versus retail sales, Gaylord said. Popular products depend on the season, but seeds, lighting systems and tomato planters – the latter made in Georgia – are popular items, he said.

Gardener’s is 100 percent employee-owned.

Though most of the Essex facility’s 60 core staff will transfer to the Milton location, Gaylord said there could be some hiring opportunities. During the holidays, the company grows to about 150 employees, gleaned from occasional job fairs.

Miller is excited about the project, saying the town welcomed Gardener’s from the start when his company met with planning and zoning staff.

“The town was willing and wanted us there, so here we are,” Miller said.

Both Miller and Gaylord sung praises about the park’s location – close to the interstate and Route 7, giving the company good access and exposure. Cioffi is happy to have a new tenant in the park: Gardener’s will be the first new structure there in just over two years.

“Gardener’s Supply is a fantastic business,” Cioffi said. “It’s enabled them to continue their competitiveness and growth in the market they’re in. It’s good for Vermont and good for the region.”

Miller contracted with S.D. Ireland for construction. Workers will push through the winter; steel for the building exterior should arrive near January 1. The business will be operational by summer 2012, Miller said.