The Dollar General store in Springdale could be redeveloped in the future.
Robert McCollim, an engineer with PennTex Ventures, spoke to Springdale’s planning commission Wednesday about an idea to redevelop the Dollar General site at 494 Pittsburgh St. The store is in a small strip shopping center, near the Springdale Manor high-rise, that contains a laundromat and a beer distributor.
“We’re looking at renovating this space and moving the beer distributor into a separate building on the site,” McCollim said.
The existing building would be renovated to expand the Dollar General, and the laundromat would be kept where it is.
The beer distributor, which rents from Dollar General, would be moved to a single-story 38-by-112-foot building near TNT Dynamite Pizza, but still on the Dollar General site.
The idea is conceptual, and the planning commission, which is advisory, did not act on it.
“This is strictly informational. … We have no application at this point in time,” McCollim said. “We wanted to get it in front of you, see how things looked to you guys, see what your questions and concerns were, so that as we do decide to move forward, we can put together an appropriate budget, timetable, etc.”
Over the past couple of years, Dollar General has been moving to a slightly larger store model that allows for additional cooler space as well as some fresh produce, McCollim said. Similar stores exist on Wood Street in Downtown Pittsburgh and in Port Vue, said Amber Price, commission chairwoman.
Things to be considered before submitting a land development application would be building setbacks and zoning rules to have the new structure on the site. Developers also would look into the old road on the property, which would be resolved by completing an American Land Title Association survey, zoning officer Ed Crates said.
If construction were to advance, crews would plan to stagger development to not disturb the three businesses, McCollim said.
He said the conversation with the planning commission was instructive.
“I look forward to coming back, bringing the project back, hopefully, in a couple months … and getting this all worked out,” McCollim said.
The planning commission expressed interest in the idea.
“I definitely think this could be really beneficial to the community,” Price said.
