A vacant furniture store purchased for $1.45 million will be turned into a Chef’s Equipment Emporium when renovations on 449 Boston Post Road are complete.

The business will be owned and operated by building buyer Michele DeMartino.

"I’m very excited to join one of the hottest retail areas in Connecticut," said DeMartino in a statement. "We are looking forward to being a part of the Orange business community and servicing the needs of the region for high quality kitchen equipment and accessories."

The recent building purchase is more evidence that the commercial market in Orange is recovering. According to municipal economic development officers, the town’s industrial properties have provided some of the town’s best commercial success stories.

Just a year ago, the industrial vacancy rate was 15.54 percent. Twelve months later, that number stands at less than 5 percent.

A PEZ expansion of its Orange-based manufacturing facility to 107,000 square feet and creation of a visitor’s center helped absorb 20,000 square feet of space. Aurora Products subsequently purchased 205 Edison Road, which had been vacant since 2009. Colony Hardware signed a 102,000-square-foot lease at 269 S. Lambert Road, relocating from its current building at 15 Stiles St. in New Haven. And TMC Properties bought a 40,600-square-foot light industrial and office property at 235 Edison Road.

In all, four large companies have decided to call Orange home in the last year. And to top it off, United Illuminating Co. recently decided to build a new 127,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and 146,000-square-foot operation center in the town.