Family Dollar is making its return to Cortez, and construction on the 8,200-square-foot store is wrapping up this year.

According to Bryn Winburn, spokesperson for Family Dollar, the store is scheduled to open the first quarter of 2016.

A local representative was not available for comment or interview, Winburn said.

The store is Family Dollar’s second foray into Cortez, after a 2013 fire gutted its store in the Cortez Plaza Shopping Center.

In October 2013, a Family Dollar employee was charged with several counts of arson in relation to the May 2013 blaze that destroyed the store and its merchandise. After Family Dollar vacated the space, Bealls department store expanded into it last November after extensive renovations.

The new Cortez Family Dollar, located at 324 South Broadway, will feature grocery staples, including dairy products, meat, grains and frozen fruits and vegetables. The store will also offer household, health and beauty products, as well as pet-care products.

The store plans to hire eight to 10 employees, Winburn said, and applicants can apply via the Family dollar website or at the store upon opening.

The North Carolina-based discount brand is also wrapping up it’s highly contested Mancos location at 560 West Menefee, and Winburn said that location is on track to open the first quarter of 2016 as well.

As far as square footage goes, the Mancos location is slightly larger at 8,300 square feet, but product offerings should be in line with what shoppers will see in Cortez.

When Family Dollar announced it planned to build in Mancos in January 2014, residents protested the retailer at a Town Board of Trustees meeting. Chief concerns have been the big box store’s potential to negatively affect the small-town economy and locally owned businesses.