By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

A family in Cassville, Missouri, has bought Marion’s Dollar General store as a first retail investment.

Matt Eichman, a Lawrence investor, previously owned the property as well as a lease with Dollar General Corp, which operates the store. When the store opened for business in 2016, Eichman said Dollar General had a 10-year lease and he would like to sell property before the lease ran out.

“A family from a community such as Marion, who got the chance to buy the property, did so,” attorney Paula Finch said.

Finch, who also lives in Cassville, said she represented the family in the sale. She is the sole contract listed on the corporate registration form for the new owner, MPWA Marion LLC, formed in January.

Finch said the Dollar General lease has less than 10 years left.

“The lease isn’t going anywhere,” Finch said. “Dollar General has plenty of renewal options. I don’t think they are likely to close anytime soon.”

The sale transaction went through in March and ws recorded this month.

Finch has an office in St. Louis as part of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale law firm. She works remotely from her home in Cassville, which is listed as the address for MPWA.

Finch said she became aware that a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree store was planned for nearby only after MPWA, as a new owner of the Dollar General site, received notification from the city’s planning and zoning commission of a proposed zoning change.