After nearly 5 years, Whitehall shopping center gets new tenant for former A.C. Moore space

After about five years of sitting idle, the building that once occupied the now defunct arts and crafts chain A.C. Moore is finally getting a new tenant in Whitehall.

Tool and equipment retailer Harbor Freight Tools sometime in late July or early August is slated to move into the 23,000-square-foot space at MacArthur Commons shopping center, 2647 MacArthur Road, Donna Walker, the chain’s publicist, told lehighvalleylive.com.

A.C. Moore ended all operations after a fall 2019 announcement the chain would be closing all stores and selling selected leases and other assets to competitor, Michaels Arts and Crafts. The region’s other A.C. Moore location, at Airport Road Shopping Center in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, last year became occupied by Wren Kitchens.

Calabasas, California-based Harbor Freight is known for its inventory of about 7,000 tools and accessories. This includes anything from hand tools and generators to air and power tools — from shop equipment to automotive tools.

The Whitehall site is hiring 25 to 30 new workers to staff the new location, Walker said. Ads show current positions available in retail sales and retail stocking, as well as seasonal help. Full-time benefits include medical, vision and dental coverage; a company matched 401(k) plan; associate discounts; and some holidays off.

All of the available positions can be found here.

There are more than 65 Harbor Freight stores statewide. Regionally, there are more stores in Wilson Borough; South Whitehall; and Westgate Mall in Bethlehem.

Founded by Eric Schmidt in 1977, Harbor Freight began as a way to bypass middlemen, working directly with factories and passing the savings on to customers. The first store opened in 1980. Today, the chain has grown to more than 1,500 locations in 48 states nationally and employs 28,000 workers nationally, Walker said.

Harbor Freight will join a large lineup of other big box retailers and smaller businesses at MacArthur Commons, situated in a bustling retail corridor. These include anchors Dick’s Sporting Goods; Big Lots; PetCo; Walmart; Giant Food Stores; and Burlington. Smaller retailers include Jenny Craig; GameStop; Great Clips; and Wells Fargo. There’s also such eateries at Burger King; Panera Bread; and Qdoba Mexican Eats.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.