Construction bids on new ABC store to begin in January
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on December 27, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Construction will soon begin on a new ABC Package Store and warehouse at the intersection of Wayne Memorial Drive and Tommy's Road.
The Wayne County Alcohol Beverage Control Board expects to move forward with construction plans for the county's sixth ABC store in the spring.
Plans include building a new 5,200-square-foot store on Wayne Memorial Drive, behind the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market near Tommy's Road and the U.S. 70 Bypass.
The ABC Board owns the 1.8-acre property, and the new store is expected to cost $800,000 to $1 million to build, which the ABC Board expects will be paid off within 18 months, said Michael Myrick, general manager of the Wayne County ABC Board.
Bids for the project are expected to start after the first of the year.
"Hopefully, the bids are going to go out in the second week of January," Myrick said. "Hopefully, we'll be breaking ground in April. Hopefully, we'll be finished sometime in September."
The store will become the county's sixth ABC store, with its location designed to serve northern Wayne County, including the Fremont and Pikeville areas.
The main Wayne County ABC store, warehouse and administrative offices are located on Landmark Drive. Other stores are located on U.S. 70 West, West Grantham Street, U.S. 70 near LaGrange and North Breazeale Avenue in Mount Olive.
The new store on Wayne Memorial Drive is expected to become one of the county's highest-performing locations, with the possibility of bringing in $1.5 million in revenue each year, Myrick said.
Prior to selecting the site, the local board considered other properties, including areas south of the bypass on U.S. 117 and areas around the U.S. 70 Bypass at Wayne Memorial Drive.
The location of the store, near Tommy's Road Elementary School, meets site-distance requirements set by state law, Myrick said. State law used to require a 50-foot site distance from a school or church, a distance that has been updated to only require stores not be located within an "unreasonable" distance.
City of Goldsboro zoning rules allow the store within the designated general business district, which does not include a site-distance requirement.
Site development plans are expected to include the addition of a 5- to 10-foot-high landscaped berm at the rear of the property and a fence around the perimeter of the building.
The local ABC board has already been setting aside money to pay for the new building, which has included reduced funding to the city of Goldsboro, Wayne County and the town of Mount Olive. The local units of government receive a portion of profits each year from revenue generated within their jurisdictions.
During the last fiscal year, Wayne County received $200,000, the city of Goldsboro received $160,000 and the town of Mount Olive received $34,000.