The Illinois-based retailer known best for farm and outdoors products bought the Kmart property in 2021 and previously planned to open there in 2023.

Instead, the project started in late November with abatement, demolition and cleanup, continued with actual construction on Jan. 1 and will largely finish, including installation of fixtures, by mid-February — although the store won’t open until mid-May, according to Rural King Project Manager Kristin Staubly and Mike Ray, superintendent for general contractor Jacobs Group of Louisville, Ky.

On Wednesday, there were about 50 tradesmen working on the interior, many on scissor lifts — electricians, plumbers, alarm installers, sprinkler fitters, flooring specialists, drywall hangers, drywall finishers, cabinet installers, HVAC specialists and masons, Ray said.

The interior is mostly open space, with bare concrete floor and white-painted bar joists above.

Contractors work on renovations to the former Kmart building on Plank Road to create a new Rural King store that is slated to open in May. Mirror photo by William Kibler

The 100,000-square-foot space will be finished in a new style pioneered last year with a store in Terre Haute, Ind., Staubly said. Its color, design and themes, including lack of a dropped ceiling, is intended to be more “family-friendly” and more appealing to women, and will include pictures of animals on the walls, Staubly said.

A manager and two assistant managers have already been hired for the Altoona store, according to Staubly.

Manager Vladimir Blazanin is planning a two-day hiring event, from noon to 7 p.m. Jan. 30 and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Altoona Area Public Library.

Open interviews will be conducted for department leads, cashiers, sales associates, loaders, a small engine mechanic, recovery associates, assemblers and others, with full- and part-time posts both available, according to a flyer provided by Blazanin.

He said there will be 65 or more people hired to staff the store.

For those unable to attend the hiring event, applications are available on the Rural King website, according to Blazanin.

After construction is done, staffers will be receiving shipments and stocking shelves.

That takes two months, according to Staubly.

A soft opening is slated for May 15, with a grand opening likely the following weekend, Staubly said.

Rural Kings sell “everything from tractors to pet food,” along with baby chicks, ducks and rabbits, boots and clothing, she said.

Most of the construction workers are from the Altoona region, although some travel from project to project for the company, including floor grinders, Staubly said.

A Grocery Outlet that had been planned for the northern end of the building will not be established there after all, despite completion of signs on the front, according to Staubly.

As she understands it, the new head of that company has shifted focus toward more urban locations.

Rural King will find another tenant — probably another grocery store, Staubly said.

As with the current project, Rural King tries to establish its stores in previously used buildings — often former Kmart, JCPenney or Sears stores, Staubly said.

“We like to come in and utilize things — bring them back to life,” she said.

Rural King was founded in Illinois in 1960 by farmers Kermit Speer and Keith Beaird, according to Staubly and an online source.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.