OKLAHOMA CITY — Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., is predicting that it will open its new Hinesville store by mid March.

The privately held national retail chain of craft and home decor stores, is constructing on the 55,000 square-foot building in Oglethorpe Square Shopping Center, which is being built on Oglethorpe Highway near Ralph Quarterman Drive.

Hobby Lobby currently has 36 locations in Georgia.

The Hinesville store is projected to bring 35 to 50 jobs to the community, paying $15.35 per hour for full-time and $10.23 per hour for part-time employees, who the company calls associates.

"We are excited to bring our unique store to the Hinesville community, John Schumacher, assistant vice president of advertising, said. "Customers new to Hobby Lobby are pleasantly surprised at the size of the store, as well as the crafts and home decor selection of merchandise we carry. Shopping at Hobby Lobby is a truly unrivalled experience in value and service."

Hobby Lobby has more than 700 stores across the nation. Each store offers more than 75,000 crafting and home decor products including floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, baskets, home accents, wearable art, arts and crafts, jewelry making, scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday.

Hobby Lobby, which is based here, began as Greco, a miniature picture frame company in 1970. When David Green moved his business from the family garage to a 300 square-foot retail space in 1972, Hobby Lobby was born. A news release from the company said it is now the nation’s largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer.

For more information about Hobby Lobby, weekly specials, coupon offers, store locations and online shopping, visit hobbylobby.com, download the mobile app or follow on Facebook at facebook.com/hobbylobby.