Dollar General considers new store in Unity

A new Dollar General store could be coming to Route 30 in Unity.

Next week, the township zoning hearing board is scheduled to hear from developers of the store proposed along the eastbound lanes of the highway at Smith’s Hill Road, just east of Beatty Crossroads. At 6 p.m. Jan. 28, the board will consider variances requested for factors including parking and signage.

According to Dollar General spokeswoman Angela Petkovic, the general merchandise discount chain is in the “due diligence phase” of looking at the potential location and expects to decide by next fall whether to place a store on the 1.5-acre site.

“The company looks for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice as we generally serve customers within a 3-to-5-mile radius, or 10-minute drive,” she said. “We also take competitive factors, traffic patterns and community concerns into consideration.”

If Dollar General follows through with plans, the store could employ between six and 10 people, Petkovic said.

Founded in 1939, the Tennessee-based company operates more than 15,000 stores in 44 states. It opened its first Westmoreland County store in 1991 and now has 36 stores here.

The closest store to the proposed new location is at the Latrobe 30 Shoppes plaza, along Route 30, west of Route 982.

Dollar General recently relocated its downtown Latrobe store from Ligonier Street to the corner of Depot and Alexandria streets, in a building formerly occupied by Family Video and Marco’s Pizza.

Dollar General operates an additional store at the Lincoln Road Shopping Plaza in Latrobe.