The empty Walmart Express building in Hillsboro will no longer be empty, but a new retailer will not be coming to the county.

Dollar General announced in a press release July 27 that it purchased the Walmart Express building on Orchard Dr., and hopes to relocate its Hillsboro store to the building by October.

“Dollar General is excited to add these locations to our existing store base,” Dollar General’s chief executive officer Todd Vasos said in the release. “We look forward to the opportunity to better serve our customers in these communities by continuing to provide the convenience and value they expect from Dollar General.”

The new store will offer a wider variety of merchandise, and will expand by adding new items such as fresh meat and produce.

Hillsboro Economic Development director Clint Seibel said that the move to a bigger building will be an improvement.

“I think at the very least,” Seibel said, “it will be an upgrade in Dollar General’s presentation.”

The building sale was completed between the companies without engaging the city, Seibel said.

“We were not really brought into the discussions as to that sale,” he said. “We found out about it about the same time the general public found out about it.”

Seibel added that the sale changes how the city will look at who they try to recruit for vacant buildings, but that they have already received interest in the Dollar General store due to its smaller size.

“It is not quite as large as some of the other buildings we have open,” Seibel said. “It’s approximately 10,000 square feet, which is a little less than some of the other buildings that are available.”

Hillsboro’s Walmart Express was one of three bought by Dollar General in Kansas, and one of 37 locations nationwide.