Harbor Freight opened its new tools store in New Kensington this week, marking another step in the redevelopment of Riverview Plaza following the closing and demolition of the Kmart department store.
The Tarentum Bridge Road store is the company’s fourth in Westmoreland County and its 67th in Pennsylvania, Harbor Freight spokeswoman Donna Walker said.
”It will be much more convenient for our customers in the New Kensington community, as currently they have to travel about 11 miles to our Monroeville location, 14 miles to Pittsburgh and 19 miles to our Cranberry Township store,” she said.
A grand opening event is planned for Jan. 25. On that day, the first 150 customers will get a free bucket with no purchase required, Walker said.
The nearly 16,000-square-foot, freestanding store covers part of the footprint of the plaza’s former Kmart, which closed in January 2019 and was torn down in 2021. Aldi was the first to occupy part of the area, building a new store attached to the shopping center. Aldi opened in March 2023.
In 2021, a car wash had been proposed and approved for where Harbor Freight was built. The reason the car wash was never built is unclear.
A freestanding Starbucks cafe is under construction in the parking lot in front of Aldi and Harbor Freight. The company previously said it expects the cafe to open this spring.
A Wingstop is under construction in the plaza’s strip shopping center between a vape shop and Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is located in the former Altmeyer’s space. The 80-year-old, family-owned bed, bath and home goods store filed for bankruptcy in July 2022.
Other business tenants in the shopping center are Staples, Verizon, Ray Azteca and Quest Diagnostics.
Nearby, a lot between Shamey’s gas station and the entrance to Giant Eagle has been cleared for construction of a Valvoline Instant Oil Change.
Harbor Freight chose the location in New Kensington because of its good visibility, easy access and ample parking, Walker said.
“We also chose to open in New Kensington because we feel there is a wide pool of qualified applicants to join our team,” she said. “We hire locally, and in addition to the construction workers we have hired, we’ll be bringing an additional new 25 to 30 jobs to the New Kensington community.”
Those interested in applying to work for Harbor Freight can do so by visiting harborfreightjobs.com/retail and searching “New Kensington, Pa.”
The New Kensington store is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.
