Marbletown

Dollar General pulls Stone Ridge application

Posted

According to Marbletown’s town supervisor, Rich Parete, Haymes Snedeker of Hix Snedeker Companies has withdrawn his application to construct a Dollar General chain store in the town. The submitted plan called for the erection of a 7,500-square-foot building on the corner of routes 213 and 209 in Stone Ridge. “The guy is from Alabama and said, ‘I just don’t want to have to deal with the town,’” Parete told the BSP.

The project appeared on the Planning Board’s agenda for the first time in July. However, rumors of Dollar General’s interest in the Stone Ridge property were addressed by board members back in May. As is common with large projects, the applicant had sought advice from members of the board before submitting an official site plan.

During the board’s July meeting, Caryn Mlodzianowski of Bohler Engineering stated that the proposed building design deviated from that of a typical Dollar General store. Board members made it clear that the changes included in the plan may not go far enough to meet the town’s design guidelines, and could need further design work.

In order to meet the town code, the building was designed to include a peaked roof rather than a flat roof and included a second peaked roof over the entranceway. The square footage of the building had also been scaled down to meet town code. The maximum square footage allowed in the B-1 district is 5,000 square feet, but buildings up to 7,500 square feet can be permitted if certain conditions are met. Mlodzianowski said that the square footage had already been reduced from the chain’s standard 91,000-square-foot design, and the firm wanted confirmation that the 7,500 square foot alternative would be allowed. Board members stated that they would not be able to guarantee a 7,500-square-foot building without additional plan details.

Haymes Snedeker could not be reached prior to publication, and it is not known if the above hurdles were specific factors in the plan’s withdrawal.

 

(Printed in the 8/3/18 BSP)