Menards will be opening up shop in Kirksville on north Baltimore Street, next to Home Depot.
Menards first reached out to Kirksville. And after discussion with the city, they have received approval for construction and will begin in the early 2017.
“Well, we believe that [construction] will begin early next year,” says Kirksville Assistant City Manager, Ashley Young. “But again, it’s somewhat of a moving target and they want to finish their other projects first or at least get very close to finishing those before they began here.”
Menard’s market research showed that a high number of people traveled to other cities such as Ottumwa, Iowa and Quincy, Illinois to go to Menard’s. So with the new addition of a major retailer, city officials hope to see a rise in Kirksville’s economy.
“The amount of money that our city is losing out on because people are going elsewhere for retail and commercial activity is a real problem,” Young says. “And it’s one that we need to address and I think that this development helps do that and it will send us in the right direction.”