GREENFIELD — The value of a Dollar General store is strong whether you live near one or far away, according to those involved in bringing the city’s latest outlet to the east side.
Along with replacing a vacant building, officials say the discount store will provide a resource for residents in the area while also following the business’s philosophy of being a spontaneous stop for customers.
Carmel-based Second Circle Acquisitions is bringing the 10,640-square foot store to almost two acres at the northeast corner of Main and Date streets. The vacant building that formerly housed Crescent Manor Nursing Home will be demolished to make way for the project.
It will be Greenfield’s third Dollar General, and second on Main Street. That aligns with the company’s business strategy, said Michael Thompson of Fishers-based Hamilton Designs, the project’s civil engineer.
“The philosophy behind a Dollar General is it’s not a destination,” Thompson told city officials at a Greenfield Plan Commission meeting last month. “People leave their house to drive to a Target, or they leave their house to drive to a Walmart.”
A decision to visit to a Dollar General, on the other hand, is almost always made on the way to somewhere else, he continued.
“You don’t go out of your way to find a Dollar General, typically,” Thompson said. “If you’re on your way to soccer practice, or way home from work or way to work, you stop by to pick up something you need. Their philosophy is: If you have to go three miles out of your way to get to one, you’re probably not going to go to one.”
Greenfield’s other Dollar General locations are at 2000 W. Main St. and 1502 N. State St., in the Green Meadows Shopping Center on the north side of town. Outlets are also located in Gem, at the Washington Village apartment complex; Cumberland; Fortville; and Wilkinson.
City officials think the Dollar General will also benefit those for whom it would be a destination.
Joan Fitzwater, Greenfield planning director, noted the houses and Bluestone Apartments in the area.
“It adds a necessary and important use for a lot of those property owners on that side of town to have the ability to get items that they need for everyday use, as well as Dollar General now sells quite a bit of food, so it’ll be a good resource,” Fitzwater said.
David Spencer, a member of the city’s plan commission, agreed. He works not far from the site at NineStar Connect, and said he notices people in the mornings and evenings crossing Main Street to get to the Casey’s convenience store on the south side of Main Street.
“This is going to be huge for people to stay on their side when they’re walking to get something,” Spencer said. “There are always people right at that Simmons Automotive looking to dart across traffic. It’s pretty dangerous, really. Hopefully this alleviates that.”
An attempt to reach Second Circle Acquisitions for further comment was unsuccessful.
