Midtown Store will Join Flatiron District Store Opening Next Summer

NEW YORK CITY, Sep 23, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --

The Home Depot (NYSE: HD), the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced plans to open a new store at 59th Street and Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan next summer. Two weeks ago the company announced plans to open its first store on 23rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Manhattan's Flatiron District, also next summer. When these stores open, Home Depot will have 17 locations throughout all five of New York City's boroughs. The company currently has 78 stores in the greater New York market, more than four times as many stores as its nearest competitor.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO )

"Home Depot has been evaluating locations throughout Manhattan for several years," said Tom Taylor, president of Home Depot's Eastern Division. "This second store in Manhattan will enable Home Depot to serve tens of thousands of new customers in Midtown and Upper East Side neighborhoods. This store and the Flatiron store will meet a huge untapped demand for home improvement products and services in Manhattan."

Like the Flatiron District store, the Midtown Home Depot will be a pedestrian-oriented, multiple-level "urban neighborhood" store, with a product assortment geared specifically for the Manhattan neighborhoods it will serve. It will comprise approximately 83,000 square feet over one lower level and will devote a substantial amount of space to showrooms on a separate mezzanine level. The Midtown store will occupy a prominent position on Third Avenue between 58th and 59th Streets, near Bloomingdale's.

The Home Depot opened its first New York City store in Ozone Park, Queens in 1994. Since that time, the retailer has opened five additional stores in Queens, four in Brooklyn, and two each in The Bronx and Staten Island, in addition to an Expo Design Center in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Home Depot operates 78 stores in the tri-state greater New York market.

    Midtown Store
    Address: 984 Third Ave.
    Square Footage: Approximately 83,000 sq. ft.
    Layout: Street-level foyer, two lower levels
    Employment: 250-300
    Expected Opening Date: Summer 2004

    Flatiron Store
    Address: 32 West 23rd Street
    Square Footage: Approximately 108,000 sq. ft.
    Layout: Street-level entrance, mezzanine and lower-level retail space
    Employment: 250-300
    Expected Opening Date: Summer 2004

                Home Depot Stores in New York by Opening Date

    1.  Ozone Park           Queens          112-20 Rockaway Blvd.   01/27/94



    2.  Flushing             Queens          131-35 Avery Ave.       06/15/95
    3.  Baychester           The Bronx       1806 E. Gunhill Rd.     06/26/97
    4.  Mariners Harbor      Staten Island   2501 Forest Ave.        08/14/97
    5.  Red Hook             Brooklyn        550 Hamilton Ave.       03/05/98
    6.  Long Island City     Queens          50-10 Northern Blvd.    01/07/99
    7.  Forest Hills         Queens          75-09 Woodhaven Blvd.   02/17/00
    8.  College Point        Queens          124-04 31st Ave.        05/31/01
    9.  Springfield Gardens  Queens          132-20 Merrick Blvd.    08/16/01
    10. Coney Island         Brooklyn        29-70 Cropsey Ave.      12/20/01
    11. Jackson Hts. (Expo)  Queens          73-01 25th Ave.         03/16/02
    12. Mill Basin           Brooklyn        5700 Avenue U           04/04/02
    13. Starrett City        Brooklyn        579 Gateway Dr.         09/26/02
    14. Staten Island East   Staten Island   545 Targee St.          10/03/02
    15. Castle Hill          The Bronx       635 Zerega Ave.         10/10/02

SOURCE The Home Depot

John Simley of The Home Depot, +1-770-384-2792
/Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO

http://www.homedepot.com

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