BOARDMAN, Ohio – For over 50 years, Joe Harvey has owned Harvey’s Floor Covering in Youngstown, serving major clients like Sears, J.C. Penney and Strouss. But last year, he was given the chance to embark on a new journey with GreenHeart Companies.

On Sept. 21, GreenHeart opened a new design center at 6001 Southern Blvd with its newest division: Harvey’s Floor Coverings. In December of last year, Brian Angelilli, president of GreenHeart, approached Harvey about partnering to make his new design center a one-stop shop and to be a part of GreenHeart.

One of the key elements of Harvey coming on board as the floor covering division’s manager was to expand their commercial division in flooring at the design center, Harvey said. “[The design center] makes it easier for a person building a new home or a condo to come here and pick out anything for the kitchen or bath, then they can come over to the flooring division and we floor the whole house,” he said.

Harvey said Angelilli always had plans to make the design center but sought out his help to make it a reality. GreenHeart invested $150,000 in building out the center. “Brian had a vision,” he said. “His vision was to build a home, but at the same time, for his clients to come to one location and pick out what they needed so they didn’t have to run to the big box stores or individual stores. We service it, install it and carry the warranties for it.”

The flooring division offers carpet, hardwood, ceramic flooring and luxury vinyl tile, or LVT. Mohawk Flooring is the largest flooring dealer at the design center and it also features Shaw Industries and other certified carpet distributors, Harvey said. Because LVT can be used in any room and is waterproof, it remains a popular item in the market, he added. “Basement, rec room, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom,” he said. “LVT is very easy to maintain.”

Designed to provide customers with everything they need for the upgrade process, the new design center will allow for the expansion GreenHeart’s business, Angelilli said. “I don’t think it can compare when you can come to one place and pick everything out versus traveling around to different suppliers and trying to coordinate that,” he said. “I think it’s going to make a big difference in our business.”

With a team of designers and project managers to help customers with their needs, plumbing, entry level and custom cabinets, granite and quartz countertops will be available along with Harvey’s Floor Coverings. “Brian wanted to bring everything in-house under one roof and it came to life,” said Shar Fabiilli, the general manager of the new-homes division. “It took a lot of time to do this, but in doing it, I think we’ve done a pretty good job.”

With more than one option to build or remodel a house available at the design center, it will be a better experience for customers and homeowners, Fabiilli said. Pricing and quotes will be offered on-site and customers can schedule in-home work, she added.

On the selection side of things, Angelilli is seeing more uses of luxury vinyl tile, or LVT, for flooring purposes versus ceramic tiles and carpeting, he said. Painted cabinets in gray colors and quartz countertops are also popular in the market, he added. “In the past 12 to 14 months, I’ve seen an uptick in sales,” Angelilli said. “The empty nesters and the villa products as well as people staying in their home and making the remodels. I think GreenHeart is a good fit for no matter what stage you are in looking for a home or looking to remodel.”

Pictured: After running Harvey’s Floor Covering for four decades, Joe Harvey brought the company under the umbrella of GreenHeart Companies, where he now runs the design center.

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Copyright 2019 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio. Used with permission.