Planners to hear proposed bedroom store astride 99

A proposed new bedroom furniture store will go before the Medford Site Plan and Architectural Commission in early May.

A proposed new bedroom furniture store will go before the Medford Site Plan and Architectural Commission in early May.

The 3,200-square-foot building would go between Riverside Avenue and Court Street, across from Rogue Valley Mall.

The retail store would go where a Dutch Bros. drive-thru kiosk is presently located.

Planning Director Jim Huber said the proposed Sleep by the Numbers retailer at 1765 N. Riverside Ave., would require moving the kiosk from its present moorings, but it would remain on the same premises between the Verizon cellphone store and former Old Farmhouse cafe building.

"It's a triangle-shaped lot, so the first cut will likely change," Huber said. "We'll be looking at things like setbacks from property lines, landscaping requirements, and certainly access will be critical. Dutch Bros. is virtually auto dependent, so circulation on a site like that is important."

Partial plans for a four-story, 120-room Hilton Garden Inn have been submitted to the Medford Planning Department.

Myhre Group Architects of Portland, representing Amaranth Properties of West Liberty, Iowa, have turned in a preliminary packet.

The new hotel would be adjacent to the Homewood Suites by Hilton location that was developed in conjunction with Pacific Retirement Services.

PRS asked the city to modify its planned unit development shortly after the first hotel was opened in 2008.

Planning Director Jim Huber said no hearings have been scheduled.

NEW YORK — Family Dollar said Thursday that will cut jobs and close about 370 underperforming stores as it tries to reverse sagging sales and earnings. The discount store operator will also permanently lower prices on about 1,000 basic items.

Dollar General, the nation's largest dollar-store chain with about 11,100 locations, offered a weak profit outlook last month after reporting weak fourth-quarter sales. And Dollar Tree, which operates nearly 5,000 locations, missed profit expectations for the holiday quarter in February.

Dollar chains and other low-price stores are also seeing an increasing divide between low-income people who are facing more constraints on spending power and the higher-income households who are benefiting from improving housing values and stock market.