Dollar General on track to open in September

Another shopping option is underway and when completed, will be an additional convenience for residents on the north end of the valley.

Although there isn’t much to see at the Basin Avenue at Highway 160 location, Wulfenstein Construction has begun grading work for Leaf Properties Inc. in preparation for Dollar General Store’s concrete slab scheduled to be poured March 27. Plans call for a 9,100-square-foot building with 7,300 feet allotted to the sales floor.

Dan MacDonald, corporate media contact for the Goodletteville, Tenn.-based retailer, said residents should “see the walls going up by mid-April.” The plan is to have a soft opening in late August and a grand opening the first week in September.

MacDonald said the company is working with Leaf Properties to build the improvements and then sign a long-term lease for the facility.

Leaf Properties Inc. is the landlord and CEO Douglas Kinsey said the company has only owned the property for about three weeks. “I signed the contract in February 2013 and closed the deal last month.” He said his development company located in Helen, Ga., has worked with Dollar General on previous locations.

Kinsey said the planning process here takes a long time to get approval, “but the county was very helpful in navigating the process. All-in-all, it was a good experience.”

He said he’s thinking about other projects in Pahrump, but declined to offer any details.

Leaf Properties was granted permission to vacate 331 feet of Frontage Road in a commission meeting on Nov. 13, 2013, which will get the store closer to the highway and give it better visibility. The 80-foot-wide easement was dedicated in 1970 but has never been developed.

“It was fortunate that we started planning for this project last year. If we hadn’t gotten the permits when we did, it would have added about another $50,000 to the cost of getting the project approved.”

Kinsey referred to the county impact fees. Commissioners voted to approve a moratorium when the economy took a downturn several years ago, but lifted that moratorium in January.

Kinsey said he is in the process of selecting the sub-contractors to build the facility and although he wouldn’t commit, said he expects most of the contractors will be local.

Kinsey said local residents are excited to have Dollar General on the north side of town. “It will be convenient for them not to have to travel all the way into town.”

MacDonald said Dollar General will have six to 10 positions available when the store opens, but applications won’t be available until closer to the opening date. “At that time, people can go to our website, dollargeneral.com, and follow the career links to apply online.”

He said residents will find the store carries most of the items they use at lower prices than grocery store chains and “on par” with big box retailers. “About 25 percent of our stock is $1 or less. We carry respected brand names and work hard to keep prices low and help our customers stretch their budget.”

He said the stores are laid out for easy shopping. “The average customer can do their shopping in about 10 minutes. We carry dairy products but no meats or produce. We do stock frozen meals and other perishable staples.”

“We are not a full-services grocery store. We carry housewares, greeting cards, paper products, over-the-counter medications and have a huge selection of health and beauty products.”

MacDonald said Dollar General “becomes part of the fabric of the community. “We are committed to literacy and our literacy foundation makes donations to the schools and public libraries to facilitate that.”