Work has begun on the third full-blown Walgreens in Tupelo. The developer told us in March that a chiropractor’s office and a hair salon were coming down to make room for the retail pharmacy that will span four lots at the corner of South Gloster and Garfield. Looks like demolition has begun.
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So do you think CVS would want to locate kitty-corner from this Walgreen’s?
I’m thinking CVS needs to keep its focus on West Main Church of Christ if it wants to pull that deal off.
Walgreens is already in this market and knows it can do the business. CVS, however, doesn’t know what the consumer response will be yet, especially if the Robins Street folks spread their discontent with the chain.
the robins st. folks managed to kill a good deal, imo. but left us with an ugly gas station and a slowly failing mexican joint…..but what do i know.
I do agree with that bigwoolymammoth, between that, the purple costume world, and the pink Cancun….crosstown doesn’t look so great!
Yeah I was a little frustrated with the Robins St. people as well. Because I just don’t understand why they would be so angry about a pharmacy that would mainly bring elderly people looking to get their prescriptions filled, but yet have no complaints about a trashy looking gas station that attracts quite questionable people throughout the night and has a back road leading right onto their beloved Robins Street.
CVS would’ve helped that neighborhood in my opinion. I think it’s a shame that the people in that neighborhood had so much of a say in the whole deal. I believe that if both the gas station and the mexican restaurant had no problems selling to the developer (which they did not) then CVS had every right to build at that location.
I could be wrong but I remember correctly the Robins street people weren’t opposed to CVS in general. What upset the community about the project was one of the lawyers offices that is located there that is in a historic house. CVS was going to tear this house down to make way for part of their landscaping. I know nothing of the house that was the sticking point to the deal but it seemed at the time such a shame to see this project fall through because CVS couldn’t do what they needed to with the lot without tearing this law office down. Someone correct me if I wrong but this is what I seem to remember killed the project and not the fact nobody wanted CVS in the neighborhood.
The neighbors didn’t want the house torn down, they wanted CVS to build a smaller store, but CVS said forget it…
Yes, the lot with the law office was the problem - originally.
CVS’ developer Redd Realty needed the city to rezone it for commercial use. The residents opposed the rezoning for a multitude of reasons, including increased traffic and the destruction of a historic home.
Redd Realty then said that it would donate the building to whoever wanted it, but the recipient would be responsible for covering the costs of moving the building.
After several more twists and turns, Redd Realty said it could build a smaller CVS location on the first two lots. By that time, the residents and several Crosstown business owners were peeved with Redd Realty and its lawyers, Priest & Wise. When I was covering the story back then, the owners and the residents said they didn’t mind CVS but they didn’t want it in their neighborhood where they believed there was no need for one. There also was the undercurrent of a protest if CVS wound up building (Dennis wrote a column about it).
In the end, CVS and Redd Realty wound up calling off the project for that corner, but said they would look elsewhere. We believe they are in discussions for a location at the corner of Thomas and West Main, but everything is shrouded in secrecy - not surprising considering how things went down last time.
Kitty corner?
Have you never heard that expression Tim?