The Dollar Tree store in the Roundtree Village shopping center in Ypsilanti Township moved to a new location, leaving the nearly 7,900 square feet of retail space vacant.

The Dollar Tree is a national and growing discount chain with 3,800 locations and a presence in all of the lower 48 states.

Its new location is about four miles northeast , in Von’s Marketplace Shopping Center at 1575 Holmes Road. It now occupies about 9,000 square feet, said Shelly Davis, Dollar Tree spokeswoman. The store re-opened July 4.

While Davis would not comment specifically on reasons behind the Ypsilanti move, she said stores are frequently re-located because they need more space, to position themselves closer to their market or to take advantage of better lease terms.

“Dollar Tree wants to be in Middle America where our customers are,” Davis said. The stores sell item for $1, including housewares, party favors, toys and school and office supplies.

The Roundtree Village Dollar Tree store, which was located on Ellsworth Road west of South Hewitt Road, opened in 1992, the company’s 217th store and before Dollar Tree went public [NYSE:DLTR] in 1995. Today, Dollar Store has 141 locations in Michigan, including one more in Ypsilanti and two in Ann Arbor.

Dollar Tree broke into the Fortune 500 in 2008, becoming its top performing stock, said Davis. “We are proud that we continue to grow, especially when you look at what is happening in retail.” Dollar Tree expects to open 225 new stores in the current fiscal year.

All Dollar Tree stores are company owned and operated. The company has headquarters in Chesapeake, VA.

Listing agent Dave Hamilton with Swisher Commercial said while it may take some time to fill the space at Roundtree Village, he expects to find a tenant.

The space rents for $8.50 a square foot, which works out to be almost $6,900 a month when fees and costs are included, Hamilton said.

“It’s a timing thing. It’s not a fast market unless it’s on a hot corner and this isn’t a hot corner,” Hamilton said.

Still, a similar size space in the shopping center was filled last year with a fruit market and only one other small space remains vacant, Hamilton said. The shopping center is anchored by Big Lots and is located near Wal-Mart.