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News Center 7's Mike Campbell learned the new store under construction is a Dollar General and spoke with residents about what it means for the people living around the neighborhood.
Resident Robin Gann lives across the street from the new store and knows people will have mixed feelings.
“I think it’s wonderful, we need something here, you know some people say, oh, another Dollar General, but it’s good, something is better than nothing,” she said. “With a store coming, property values will go back up, it’s a win-win for the neighborhood.”
Other people living in the neighborhood said losing the grocery store created a lot of stress.
“It’s very hard for us to get groceries right now because that was our only grocery store we had,” resident Amanda Lairmore said. “Not many people have cars around here and we walk and it’s too far for some older people to walk so yes it’s gonna be very beneficial.”
>> RELATED: East Dayton neighborhood copes with the loss of its only grocery store
Lairmore says even though Dollar General is not a full grocery store, it’s still a good thing.
“I’m happy with it, I think it’s gonna be a lot better than what it was as a vacant lot.”
We reached out to city planners about the project and they said, “the owners of the new store have indicated that they plan to carry more groceries than a typical Dollar General store.”
Dayton leaders say the area was already zoned retail so they had minimal oversight on the project, but say they do support neighborhood development and the positive step for the community.
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