Jasper has the makings of a hardware store again.

As the Jasper Home Hardware on Sleepy Hollow Road is rebuilt following the July 2024 Jasper Wildfire, a temporary location has opened up.

Where is it? Well, in hardware store parlance, it’s “waaaay in the back.” 1 Compound Road, to be precise.

Coming from town on Hazel Ave, it’s over the tracks, past the Stan Wright Industrial Yard, and left on Compound Road. Keep left.

Look for the orange flags in front of the large triple bay garage, aka the Municipality of Jasper’s new facility, referred to in recent municipal documents as Jasper’s transit fleet facility.

Over at the Sleepy Hollow site, the under-construction warehouse, which will replace the destroyed Home Hardware building and the store’s various outbuildings, forklifts, trucks and greenhouse, is taking shape.

After the original structure burned and staff there considered the rows of paint, solvents other harsh chemicals the store contained, it was expected that there would be a rigorous soil removal and subsequent testing regiment.

“We knew they were going to be extremely thorough,” said manager/owner Ross Derksen.

The scale of debris removal up was one of Jasper’s largest clean up jobs. After numerous failed soil tests, in January the Home Hardware site finally had its demolition permit closed. (Although who will foot the bill for the costly service is still being debated, Derksen said. Like many Jasper policy holders have found out in the wake of the disaster, there have been unresolved questions between insurers, policy makers and homeowners about who, ultimately, is responsible for paying for the multiple tests and overall soil remediation regimen. In many local cases, the Canadian Red Cross stepped in to clear residents’ bills. Commercial properties have not had that same support.)

Survey says

As the community’s rebuild has progressed, Jasper residents and business license holders have been surveyed on many topics. Some of those questions revolved around the community’s retail offer. Jasperites were asked what local services were they most missing, post-fire?

One of the more common responses given was: a hardware store.

Last year, through the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre, the municipality facilitated the opening of a Business Pop-Up Village on Connaught Drive. The pop-up location is meant for forward-facing businesses that lost brick-and-mortar space in the 2024 wildfire. The village currently hosts a bike shop, food vendors, a motorcycle tour company and an artist in residence, among other vendors.

Several months ago, Derksen was asked if Home Hardware could operate in the pop-up village. The offer was appreciated, but Derksen said his customers—especially contractors—required vehicle parking, and room to load up supplies. The Pop Up Village downtown is conveniently located, but scant on space.

“We didn’t want to be in the way,” Derksen said.

As such, a new solution was sought. Eventually, the MoJ offered the space in the town’s newly-erected facility on Compound Road—adjacent to, but not accessible from, the north end of the Stan Wright Industrial Park.

Home Hardware and the MoJ have now come to terms on a temporary lease.

“Parks Canada and the Municipality were really good,” Derksen said. “They were trying to find a solution for us.”

Municipal council is currently considering a recommendation from town administrators to fill the bays with four new buses—although not zero emissions electric buses, as was first proposed. With that procurement still some months out, in the interim, a much-needed hardware retail service is being provided.

“We are stocked up for contractors,” Derksen said.

As for homeowners, Derksen said he and the Home Hardware staff are ordering conservatively, but thoughtfully. They’re expanding their inventory, but have limited space. Not for long though. While he didn’t dare give a hard date or an opening day target, Derksen indicated he was going to be purchasing inventory with summer 2026 tourists in mind.

And when it does open, it will be a more accessible, more functional, more modern store, he said.

“Being all on one floor will be a lot easier for everyone,” he said.

In the meantime, he and his fellow staff are setting up shop at 1 Compound Road and looking for feedback on what residents want at their hardware store.

“Because we lost so much of town, it’s hard to know how many people we’re serving,” he said.

Jaaperites can help fill that information gap by stopping by the new location, visiting the Jasper Home Hardware Instagram page or calling 780-852-4491.

Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com