Construction is about to begin on a new retail development targeted for the former Eastgate Dodge property along the busy Route 30 highway corridor in Hempfield Township. The Commerce Group of Deerfield Beach, Fla., recently completed demolition of the car dealership building and plans to start work within the next week or so. It will build three free-standing retail buildings totaling 30,000 square feet in space at the 2.5-acre site near Westmoreland Mall east of Greensburg. No leases have been signed, but Commerce Group representative Miguel Durand said the company continues to pitch the site to national franchise retailers and major regional chains. 'We've been talking to a lot of prospective tenants; we're trying to line up the right tenant mix,' Durand said. He said the possibilities include stores that specialize in either men's or women's clothing, card and gift shops and possibly a wireless phone company outlet store. 'We may be able to announce something in the next month or so,' Durand said. The Commerce Group has been heavily involved in development along Route 30 for a number of years. The company previously developed the PepBoys, Barnes & Noble, Pier 1 Imports and Olive Garden sites. As the Commerce Group gets started on its latest project, another new retail store is about to open in the same area. As reported, Roomful Express will open a 75,000-square-foot outlet in the building that most recently served as a Gabriel's outlet. 'We will be having a soft opening on Monday and then the actual grand opening on May 18,' said Jack McGowan, chief executive officer of Pittsburgh-based R.H. Kuhn Co. Inc., the chain's parent company. R.H. Kuhn purchased the building through an affiliate at a real estate auction last year. This will be Roomful Express' 12th outlet, including 10 other stores in the western Pennsylvania area and another in Ohio. The 43-year-old furniture retailer, formerly known as Freight Liquidators, is based in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh, where it also operates a 250,000-square-foot warehouse. One of its former Freight Liquidators stores at one time occupied a building along Route 30 where a Best Buy consumer electronics store opened last year.

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