Construction crews have broken ground on a new HomeBuilt hardware store at the former Allen's grocery site near 2000 North in Orem, marking the redevelopment of the North State Street property. A Facebook source identifies the City of Orem account in connection with the project, but it does not establish when the post was published. Ground has officially been broken, with construction now underway on what the city describes as a new hardware store experience.
The planned store at 1890 North State Street is designed as a 30,822-square-foot facility, according to Foundry Group. It's set to include traditional hardware, paint, and lawn and garden supplies, alongside a specialty Design Center and a drive-through lumber loading bay. HomeBuilt maintains its own site at homebuilt.com, and the City of Orem Government on Facebook confirmed the groundbreaking took place at the former Allen's grocery store property.
A Vacant Grocery Lot Finally Gets a New Chapter
A Vacant Grocery Lot Finally Gets a New Chapter The site's history stretches back decades. Allen's remaining Utah County locations closed in January 2018, according to a historical account shared in the Facebook group Orem News. The Orem building was subsequently owned by Kneaders and used for warehouse and operational purposes, according to Foundry Group.
The new HomeBuilt store is just one piece of a larger commercial overhaul planned for the property. The 1890 North State Street site falls under an amended PD-53 concept plan that combines the HomeBuilt anchor with a planned two-story, 16,000-square-foot retail and office building, a 3,200-square-foot drive-through restaurant, and the existing Kneaders Bakery & Cafe, according to Foundry Group. PD-53 was approved in February 2024 and previously included office and retail buildings, per the same report.
Getting the City's Sign-Off
Local approvals moved through Orem's municipal process over the summer. The Orem Planning Commission recommended approval of the amended PD-53 concept plan on July 1, 2026, which led to City Council review on July 14, 2026. Foundry Group said final City Council approval and detailed site-plan approvals were still required, but HomeBuilt's website states that groundbreaking and construction began on August 26. Detailed site, engineering, landscaping, lighting, and drainage approvals were required, according to Foundry Group.
Developers also built in specific concessions for neighbors. To mitigate impacts on single-family homes bordering the eastern edge of the State Street lot, the HomeBuilt building was set back 46 feet from the rear property line, with a stepped roofline incorporated to reduce building height near residences, Foundry Group reports. The former grocery building had sat significantly closer to the neighboring property boundaries, according to the same account.
Behind the Brand: Clyde Companies' Century in Utah Construction
HomeBuilt Hardware & Design is developed by Clyde Companies, which describes the concept as serving professionals and DIY customers, backed by the drive-through lumber service and dedicated design showrooms, according to Clyde Companies Inc. The Orem location is moving toward a late summer 2027 opening.
Clyde Companies, founded in 1926 as W.W. Clyde & Co., generates an estimated $2.5 billion in annual revenue and employs nearly 5,000 workers across heavy civil construction, building materials, and development sectors in the Intermountain West, according to ENR. The company's stable of subsidiaries includes Geneva Rock and Sunpro. Notably, this venture into home improvement retail extends a tradition dating back to 1937, when Clyde Companies says its Springville hardware store became a community pillar and inspired HomeBuilt, per Clyde Companies.
Clyde Companies' headquarters is in Orem, according to the ENR excerpt.
A Familiar Playbook in Springville, Too
The North Orem project isn't the only former Allen's site getting the Clyde Companies treatment. In a parallel effort, the company acquired another former Allen's grocery property known as “Allen's Block” in downtown Springville in early 2026 through the entity Springville Rising, initiating site remediation and civic re-imagining branded as 4th & Main, Hoodline previously reported in Springville's Allen's Block redevelopment. It's a pattern that shows Clyde Companies methodically working through the county's aging Allen's grocery footprint, one blighted lot at a time.
As construction now proceeds toward the Spring 2027 opening target, one detail worth watching is how traffic flow and residential buffering continue to be managed along the busy 1890 North State Street corridor, given the neighboring homes just beyond the store's footprint.
