Dollar General gets OK to open in former Shopko store

Plans for a proposed Dollar General store that would be located in the former Shopko Express on Port Washington’s north side were approved by the Plan Commission last week.

Commission members agreed to a building, site and operations plan for the store at 1101 N. Wisconsin St., but the company’s decision to repaint the structure brought a quick reaction from Mayor Marty Becker, the commission chairman.

“Ick,” Becker said upon learning that the cream-colored building would be painted beige and the teal roof painted brown. “It would just be blah. Green adds something to it.”

The commission also specified that the store not be allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. 

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, noted that Dollar General proposed its hours to be from 8 am. to 10 p.m. daily. 

“This is a residential neighborhood. Do we need to allow that?” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven, a member of the commission, said. 

Becker, a retired pharmacist who worked at the store when it was Port Apothecary and Shopko Express, said the hours need to be limited.

“There’s no need for that store to be open until 10 p.m.,” he said. “Shopko tried that.”

Vanden Noven also suggested that the city check the setback requirements for the parking lot since the company will need to bring the landscaping up to code.

If the parking lot doesn’t meet the city codes, he noted, they may have to “lop off” some of the blacktop.

The landscaping must be updated because the building has been vacant for more than a year, Harris said.

Landscaping is particularly important around the perimeter and back of the building because they abut residential areas, he said.

Harris said he does not know when the store will open.