The proposed 14,000-square- foot Rite Aid at the corner of East Jefferson and North Main streets met no opposition Tuesday before the Butler zoning hearing board.

The board allowed three parking variances for the pharmacy.

First, the board approved 24 off-street parking spaces for Rite Aid, down from 49 initially required by the city. The size of the spaces also was shrunk to 162 square feet each, down from the previously required 180 square feet.

And, since there is no room to offload trucks in the proposed lot, Rite Aid will be permitted to unload shipment trucks from East Jefferson Street, where the pharmacy's drive-through exit will be.

Trucks will only offload between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. once a week, according to developer JJJ Properties representatives, in addition to intermittent vendor deliveries.

Demolition of buildings where the Rite Aid will be built will begin after Jan. 1. Then construction will begin.

PITTSBURGH — Construction resumed on a slots casino now that a new investment group has closed on financing for the $780 million project.Contractors have been idled since July 1. They're being paid some $50 million they're owed.Holdings Acquisition Co. is made up of Chicago real-estate billionaire Neil Bluhm's Walton Street Capital, High Pitt Gaming and Detroit businessman Don Barden.Barden initially won the license and planned to finance the casino with borrowed money. But he was unable to get enough from banks and investors.