If you’ve driven U.S. Highway 31 through Hanceville lately, you’ve probably seen some big construction happening directly across the campus from Wallace State Community College.

When it’s finished, the big project will house a Dollar General Market store — one of only a few in Alabama. Company officials project the new Hanceville store will open in early August.

Unlike the ubiquitous Dollar General retail stores, the Dollar general Market stores offer an expanded array of home goods and clothing, as well as a full grocery store stocking fresh meat, produce and dry goods. The new store will be 16,000 square feet — approximately three times the size of most local Dollar General stores.

“To get a market store — that’s big for this town; for any town. And, it’s big for us,” said Dollar General market store district manager Jim Hill. “The market has fresh meat and produce — if you’re used to shopping at one of our Dollar General stores, you’ll really be impressed by how much more this store will have.”

With several market stores planned or already under construction, it’s hard to say exactly how many market stores will soon open statewide, although the Tennessee-based retail chain currently operates about 70 market stores nationwide. The retail giant already operates more than 10,000 Dollar General stores, giving it the most pervasive footprint of any American retailer. There are at least four other market stores already open in Alabama.

The new store will employ just under 40 people, about 30 more than currently work at the Hanceville Dollar General location the market store is set to replace. That means the company must hire a lot of new people, and Hill said nearly all of those jobs will be filled by residents of Hanceville and surrounding areas.

“Most of the jobs will come from here,” said Hill. “There are seven working at the current store now, and they will add about 30 to this new store. And, out of the 30 who we’re going to hire, 29 of them will come from right here. Believe it or not, we’re not like a lot of retail stores — a lot of these jobs will be full time jobs.”

The company will host a job fair next Tuesday (June 5) at the Hanceville Career Center on the campus of Wallace State Community College. The new store will need to staff managers, assistant managers, departmental managers and sales associates; the job fair will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 3 p.m.

Hanceville mayor Kenneth Nail welcomed the new store, saying Dollar General is a corporate citizen who has a good track record of partnering with the communities where its stores reside.

“They’ve done things the right way,” said Nail. “They’ve identified a place where they will be successful, and opening a market store in Hanceville makes perfect sense. They’ve been great to have in Hanceville for the last several years, and I’m just really thrilled that we’re getting a store that very few other places anywhere have.

“It will make a difference for folks who come up this way from the south and other parts of the county — they won’t necessarily have to drive all the way into Cullman to get a lot of the things they’re used to shopping for.”

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.