A local real estate investment firm focused on dollar stores recently dropped more than a few bucks for its new downtown headquarters.
Battle Monument Group has purchased the 4-story office building at 9 S. 12th St. in Shockoe Slip for $2.3 million.
The 12,600-square-foot building is next to coworking space Expansive and replaces Battle Monument’s downtown home of nearly a decade at 530 E. Main St.
Founded in 2015, Battle Monument’s primary strategy is acquiring retail buildings occupied by Dollar General stores. To date, the company has amassed a portfolio of more than 200 such stores in over 20 states from the Sun Belt through the Northeast.
While the headquarters move gives Battle Monument more space than in its previous office, John Oliver, who co-owns the firm with Mike Brumagin and Peter Stark, said they mostly were looking to become their own landlords.
“It’s a little bigger, but most importantly for us, honestly, is we can control the air conditioning system and the elevator and the physical security of the building and those things,” Oliver said. “And feel proud to have our own space.”
Battle Monument bought the Shockoe Slip building from an entity tied to Richard Stutts, which city records show had owned it since the 1980s. The Nov. 20 deal was brokered by Range Commercial Partners’ David Wilkins and Hamilton Shaheen. The property, which dates back to the late 1880s, was most recently assessed at $806,000.
“It’s a very, very nice building and didn’t really need any immediate work,” Oliver said. “The location was really helpful too, because it’s right in the heart of the central business district, with all of our professional third-party providers within a block or two.”
Oliver added that he and Stutts, coincidentally, were once neighbors but had never met.
Battle Monument’s staff of around 12 has already moved into the building.
Oliver said Battle Monument has grown to become the second-largest Dollar General landlord in the country. Even though Battle Monument doesn’t operate the stores, it closely monitors Dollar General’s business and has found it a “defensive asset.”
“They don’t change in their importance when the economy is bad, and they stay important because they’re mostly rural locations. They are, in effect, the last mile of retail in the United States,” Oliver said. “They’re somehow not correlated with the broader economy, and for our investors and for us, it makes things very predictable and consistent.”
Heading into 2026, Oliver said the firm is looking to continue growing its portfolio’s store count by about 20%, an approach it has taken in the past.
“We really are specialized and simple,” he said. “It’s not sexy, but we’re good at it.”