Dollar General coming in district 3

The wheels of development are steadily turning in Donaldsonville as Dollar General Store has begun its building process on the corner of St. Patrick Street and First Street. Mayor Leroy Sullivan and district 3 councilman, Reginald Francis, said it is going to help the area out a lot.

“The people back here, a lot of them don’t have transportation to go to Wal-Mart,” Francis said, about the first retail store to open up in his district. “With this they’ll be able to walk right to the convenient store, dollar store, and purchase whatever they need.”

Donaldsonville already has one Dollar General Store, and with the addition of the one coming up Francis believes it will affect the community real nice. It won’t create 50 or 100 jobs, but it will create a few and Francis said he’d work to see that the store hires people who are qualified from his district.

“It’s something new. We are not dead in the water, we are moving. Donaldsonville is on a steady pace.”

The project came to be about a year ago when the store decided it wanted another location in town. Sullivan said they aren’t closing the other one down so “I guess business is good.” Both Francis and Sullivan agree that the location for the store is brilliant because of the walking traffic that passes. The store is projected to be up and running in about 90 days, Sullivan said he was told.

“This is good for the community,” Sullivan said. “It’s showing that people are still interested in Donaldsonville. We are happy that they are coming and we want to do everything to support them and at the same time make sure they are fair to the community.”

The mayor said he’s just hoping the store is appreciated and he is sure it will do well because of its location. Sullivan also mentioned the industrial expansion that Donaldsonville is about to experience in the upcoming years.

“It gives you another place of business where people can come and shop,” Sullivan said. “I’m sure [the industrial expansion] has a lot to do with it. This area, over the next few years, industry-wise is going to be booming.”