Dollar General has stores on the north, east, and west sides of Apopka. Within the first few months of 2018, a Dollar General is scheduled to open on the south side of the city.
What should be final changes for the proposed new store were presented on Wednesday, December 27, to the Development Review Committee (DRC), a group of city staff members from the various city departments. The DRC looks at each development proposal prior to it going before the city’s Planning Commission and City Council.
The Dollar General store is planned for the northwest corner of the intersection of Park Avenue and Michael Gladden Boulevard (Ninth Street).
Site developer Jeremy Anderson said that Dollar General wants to get started on construction for the new store as soon as possible. The new store would join the Dollar Generals on North Rock Springs Road, East Semoran Boulevard, and West Orange Blossom Trail.
This isn’t the first time that the DRC has looked at the new dollar store. Some of the changes that came from previous times by the committee that saw the proposal have been incorporated into the plan presented this week to the DRC.
One of the main changes was a move of the store’s entrance from Park Avenue to Michael Gladden Boulevard. The police department said a Park Avenue entrance might cause bigger traffic issues than one on Michael Gladden Boulevard.
Anderson also said the store will differ from other Dollar Generals in Apopka in that it will have carts stored just inside the front door in a vestibule area. Those carts may also be the type that lock when taken a certain number of feet away from the business, Anderson said.
Because city code calls for buildings of 7,500 sq. ft. and larger to have a sprinkler system and the development plan for the Dollar General calls for the building to be 7,600 sq. ft., the new store will have a fire-rated concrete wall dividing the stock room from the rest of the building. As a result, a sprinkler system will not be required.
To find out what other projects were reviewed at the December 27 DRC meeting, see page 1A of the Friday, December 29, issue of The Apopka Chief.
