The rebuilt Hagan Ace Hardware at 1022 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park is now projected to reopen in June 2027, following the May 2025 fire that destroyed the store and its outside storage. The company marked the next phase of the recovery with a groundbreaking on September 17, 2026.
The location had served as headquarters for Hagan’s 11-store Northeast Florida group and had been a community fixture for 45 years. According to Clay Today, the building collapsed after the blaze, and fire crews were still working to extinguish it 16 hours after it was first reported. Company president Bill Hagan credited community support and said Hagan Ace looked forward to returning.
The Blanding Boulevard location had operated as a 45-year community staple before the fire, and the disruption extended into the company’s back-office operations. The building housed central computer equipment for the entire regional chain, and its destruction knocked servers offline and temporarily disrupted IT operations at several other Hagan locations, according to First Coast News, before the company upgraded its digital infrastructure.
Smoke Noticed Before Closing
Employees noticed smoke roughly 15 minutes before closing but were unable to suppress it with hand extinguishers, and all customers and staff evacuated safely.
What National Fire Data Can Tell Us
The U.S. Fire Administration estimated 111,900 nonresidential building fires nationwide in 2024. That broad category does not establish retail-specific patterns or determine the cause of the Hagan fire…