CVS plans another giant drugstore on Duval
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
CVS Caremark, the parent company of thousands of CVS drugstores across the country, has its eye on Key West.
On the heels of opening a new, 24-hour CVS in the Kress Building at 500 Duval St., which housed Fast Buck Freddie’s for 37 years, the company has now targeted 101 Duval St. as the latest location for a new retail outlet. If CVS wins planning board approval for 101 Duval, the company will operate two giant drugstores only four blocks apart. There are currently three other CVS stores in Key West, and a new one opening soon on Stock Island.
“We have several stores in the Key West market and we are always looking for opportunities to expand service in our markets,” said CVS Caremark spokesperson Michael DeAngelis.
The newest store would move into a 10,631-square foot building that used to house a giant T-shirt shop at the corner of Duval and Front streets. The location has been vacant for the past three or four months, according to Key West Chief Building Official Ron Wampler, who has done a walk-through of the building with CVS officials and the city fire marshal. CVS also appeared before the city Development Review Committee on Thursday, Sept. 25, for a preliminary meeting before moving on to the planning board.
Wampler, who sits on the Development Review Committee, said CVS will be asking for approval of a minor development plan to build a roof over the existing 1,094-square foot interior courtyard at 101 Duval St. The company will also ask the planning board to approve a variance for the courtyard roof.
Wampler said CVS will have to do other improvements to the building in order for it to meet city and state building codes. The current electrical system does not meet code, Wampler said. Handicapped accessibility will also be an issue because the first floor of the building is up several steps from the street. A 36-car parking garage occupies the lower level, which could potentially flood during storms, he added.
“We’d like to see some more landscaping around the exterior. I don’t know how successful we’ll be because it’s an existing building. The approach is different on a existing building,” Wampler said, referring to the more limited building code requires that apply to a renovation of an existing building as compared to new construction.
The CVS Caremark spokesperson said if the company wins city approval for 101 Duval St., the store would not open until late 2015 or early 2016. The new Kress Building CVS is expected to open sometime early next year.
“We would lease the [101 Duval St.] building as part of this store proposal. This is in the very early planning stages … so we do not have additional details to share at this time,” DeAngelis said in an email to Konk Life.
CVS/pharmacy is the retail division of CVS Health, which operates more than 7,700 stores in the United States. It was the first national pharmacy to end tobacco sales.
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I’m confused… Isn’t there already a CVS just across the street?
No there is a Wallgreens in the Strand Building.