Lowe's Home Improvement has set Sept. 8 as the grand opening of its new Sanford store, which will replace the one totaled by the April 16 tornado.

The rebuilt $10 million store will provide another sign of rebirth for the Lee County community, which was hit hard by the tornado.

The store will employ 160 people. All of the damaged store's employees were shifted to other Lowe's stores nearby. The store will have 103,000 square feet of sales space, plus a 34,000-square-foot garden center.

Officials broke ground on the replacement store in May.