84 Lumber owners give rosy forecast

Pro dealer 84 Lumber opened a new store on Oct. 26 in Bridgeville, Pa., outside of Pittsburgh, marking the first new unit for the pro dealer in six years. The two-story store will be located on a seven-acre property that includes a kitchen and bath design showroom, a lumber warehouse, railroad spur and truss plant.

Company owner and president Maggie Hardy Magerko told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that the company, which ranked No. 6 on the HCN Pro Dealer 2012 Scoreboard, will turn a profit this year for the first time since the housing downturn.

“We definitely hit rock bottom,” Hardy Magerko said in the interview. Sales at the new location, which will replace an older store located nearby, are projected to reach $25 million next year, she said.

Company founder and patriarch Joe Hardy, also interviewed by the Tribune Review, predicted that new-home construction “will start coming back in another year or so. The inventory is disappearing,” Hardy said, adding housing starts could return to the 1.5 million-a-year level nationwide in a couple years.

The company’s new store count is 251 locations, down from more than 500 units at its peak.