Usually when a community gets upset over a retail store building there the retailer in question is usually Wal-Mart. I found it a little odd when I read that a community is upset over a plan for a new Dollar General. When you consider most Dollar Generals have less space then the grocery section of a Wal-Mart super-center it does seem a little odd. The community in question is Riverton, Illinois, a small town of about 3000 located just outside of Springfield. The controversy came when the town zoning board changed the area from agricultural to commercial. When the idea first surfaced one of the people near the proposed store started a petition and had 80 signatures against it. The board rejected the petition and approved the change. The store will have to put up a privacy fence and there are a few other conditions they will have to meet.
The proposed store is only 9000 square feet, which is not large. The average Wal-Mart super-center is 200,000 square feet. The argument is that the town is close enough to Springfield that the new store is not needed. The current Dollar General is only 3000 square feet. The mice there are hunchbacked.
Why would anyone want to shop Dollar General when you can go to Springfield and shop? How about convenience? Not everyone has transportation. Believe it or not, there are actually people who walk to stores. For a small town this would be a good thing. Having the added space would increase Dollar General's sales, which would increase the sales taxes collected, not to mention the added property taxes for the new building. Small towns need every bit of revenue they can get. I think the zoning board there made the right decision.
1 comment:
We have DG and Pamidas around here and I agree with you. When I visit a small town and need something, I look for one of them. And why not walk? Some people have to have something to be angry about, maybe.
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