At its peak, Florida had over 170 Kmart stores. Now, only one remains, and another long-abandoned location in Mandarin is about to be transformed. The former Kmart on San Jose Boulevard is officially set to be demolished, making room for none other than Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer.
The empty 133,123-square-foot Kmart, located at 9600 San Jose Boulevard, has been sitting vacant since it closed its doors in 2016. After years of waiting, the space is finally getting a new purpose. In early 2024, rumors swirled that Home Depot had plans for the site, and a company spokesperson confirmed that a store was slated to open in the fall of 2025. While details were sparse at the time, it’s now official—construction is moving forward.
On September 6, 2024, Ordner Construction was awarded a $400,000 permit to demolish the old Kmart. This is the first big step toward building the new 132,000-square-foot Home Depot store. The project had already cleared a major hurdle in May when the city council approved a rezoning request, paving the way for the development.