2015 Dollar General grand opening in Beach Lake

Linda Drollinger
Posted 8/21/12

BEACH LAKE, PA — There was nothing slipshod about Berlin Township’s review of the construction and landscaping plans for a Dollar General (DG) store to be located adjacent to Joe’s Ranch House …

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2015 Dollar General grand opening in Beach Lake

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BEACH LAKE, PA — There was nothing slipshod about Berlin Township’s review of the construction and landscaping plans for a Dollar General (DG) store to be located adjacent to Joe’s Ranch House on Route 652 in Beach Lake. Represented by solicitor Jeff Treat, supervisors Paul Henry, Cathy Hunt and Charlie Gries, and planning board chairman Bailie Rutherford, the township negotiated modifications to DG’s original construction plan at its October 21 monthly Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting and prior public hearing.

Following a thorough preliminary review and recommendations by the township planning board and local landscape architectural firm Woodland Design Associates (WDA), the amended plan approved at the BOS meeting seeks to provide a safe, rustic and eco-friendly shopping experience for DG consumers. DG, represented at the meeting by developer Bob Gage, expects the store to open in late spring or early summer 2015. “Groundbreaking to grand opening in 120 days is standard operating procedure for DG,” said Gage. “We are awaiting Department of Environmental Protection approval before groundbreaking can begin. That probably won’t come in time to permit groundbreaking before spring.”

There were few points of contention between DG and the township. Wider entrance/exit access than is contained in the approved plan is one point on which both parties are agreed; PennDOT opposed DG’s proposal for a 36-foot wide entrance/exit access, which is the store’s standard for all locations outside PA. PennDOT insists on access no wider than 24 feet. Gries argued for 40-foot access, which he claims has been proven adequate for simultaneous access of one car and a tractor-trailer truck. But he would be satisfied with 36-foot access, provided that he can convince PennDOT to waive its 24-foot requirement.

When completed, DG will offer 31 parking spaces, a five-stanchion bicycle rack, and sidewalk access to Joe’s Ranch House to its west. The grounds will be seeded, sodded and planted with indigenous trees, per WDA recommendations. In the view of the supervisors, the store itself will be a welcome addition to the Beach Lake business district.

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