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The announcement that a major retailer has firm plans to locate within the village of Granville was met by excitement from local officials as news of the arrival of a Tractor Supply Co. store became official Friday.
Mayor Jay Niles said he was happy to finally see the plans laid out on the village hall conference room table.
“I’m very excited by this new development for the community. Frankly, it will help with taxes. It should create some jobs and increase the number of people coming to Granville to shop,” Niles said.
Niles said he thought the new store and people it will attract to the area represented good news for all Granville area businesses.
“The Chamber welcomes economic development,” Granville Area Chamber of Commerce President Kerri Thomas said. “Of course there are concerns about the impact this store will have on some of our existing businesses but Tractor Supply can be a nice compliment to what we already have here. This is an opportunity to bring people to our area instead of them traveling to Rutland, Glens Falls or Saratoga and our existing businesses can draw from the increase in retail traffic. It is nice that it will located in the village.”
“It’s very exciting,” supervisor-elect Matt Hicks said Sunday.
Niles said Tractor Supply could represent a kind of magnet store that could entice other retailers to come to Granville.
The idea, he said, is stores the town already has, Price Chopper, Rite Aid and now Tractor Supply, and the people they draw might make the area more attractive to other retailers looking for sites.
The company is known for building outside of major metropolitan areas in smaller communities. “They understand small communities; that’s why they’re so successful,” Niles said.
Niles said he has been in talks with other retailers including Aldi and Wal-Mart, negotiating to bring them to Granville. While he had no commitment from any other retailers, that was also the case with Tractor Supply until the details were finalized. The Tractor Supply represents what Niles said officials want to see, what he referred to as “in fill” development. “We’ve got a lot of retail space within the village we’d like to see filled,” he said.
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