Hope Builders’ Depot is on the RISE!

Pictured: The upcoming new & improved Hope Builder’s Depot

HOPE – The busiest man in Hope, Arkansas has to be John Odom from John Odom Construction. John, now fifty years old, was born and raised right in Hope. His father was Randy Odom, who is now deceased, specializing in residential construction. John has followed a similar path to his dad, building a career out of mostly commercial construction.

With his newest project in the works, the reconstruction of the Hope Builder’s Depot, we thought to ask John about his career, his projects, and what it means to him. “My family has tried to do a lot for the community, and I would like to carry that on.” John told us that at any given time, he and his construction crews have seven to eight building projects in progress. Although these projects are tedious, he absolutely loves to work and he loves, “The thrill of the deal”. Currently, his plans in the near future include converting the former Hope Star building into a convenience store, and to demolish the old service station at Third & Hervey nearby for use as gas pumps. Another project is building a restaurant and a strip mall in the empty area between Walmart and Garrett Memorial Church.

However, the most personal and special of his current works is the Hope Builders Depot.

John purchased the old Hope Builders’ Supply property in 2001 from the Kiamichi Railroad. At some point, the Odom family started up a new supply store in this location, naming it Hope Builders Depot, which was in operation up until it was damaged in an ice storm a few years ago. These days, John and his construction team are keen on rebuilding his family’s business to be better than ever. Although he has invested in many projects around town, the depot means a whole lot more to him personally, “It’s my baby!”

In 1940, Hope Builders’ Supply was started in the same location by George Peck and John Lowe. In 1943, the two men built the large warehouse to aid the need of supplies to build the Southwest Proving Grounds north of Hope. Finally, in 1952 the larger showroom was constructed. After decades of the store serving the Hope community, John is working hard to revive this historic Hope property once again, “We wanted to resurrect a business like this in the downtown sector of Hope!”

The new construction of the depot is frameworked out by structured steel, and the roof is put together with steel joist. The materials housed in the depot will now be connected to the showroom, and customers will be able to drive through and pick-up their order or walk through to view the products for sale like larger commercial building supply stores. The new store will also have on-line order and on-line pickup. “We’re going to make it where people can roam and wander through the different sections of the store. People will be able to look and see the products and even if they don’t purchase it today, they will know where to find it when it’s needed.”

Even with many projects under his watch, not one compares to this one for John. “This right here, I wake up at night and this is a constant stresser on me.” He oversees the work on the Builders Depot daily and spends a lot of time on it. He even gets emotional when speaking about it. Through the tough times, his vision and fervor to complete the project has never ceased, “This was a vision to build and to grow a business, and now we’re nearing the end.”

With time drawing to a close, we pressed John on his thoughts for the future, “I would like to begin doing something in the residential sector of Hope in the future, possibly with apartments or townhouses.”

We thank John for his time in doing this interview and we will check with him in the near future to see what future projects may have come along.