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CVS drugs considers old Frank's locationBy SHARON L. BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, The vacant Frank's Nursery & Crafts space on 49th Street N at 54th Avenue has been targeted for another CVS Pharmacy with drive-through service. Plans filed with Pinellas County development services name CVS as the company, although a spokesman for the Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain would not confirm the new location because the deal is not final. The plans still are under review with development officials. "I can't comment on it," said Mike DeAngelis of CVS. Frank's Nursery & Crafts at 5501 49th St. N was among the 42 stores targeted by the parent company for poor performance and closed earlier this year. A CVS at the Frank's site would be the fourth in south Pinellas. DeAngelis said the three CVS drugstores under construction in south Pinellas will open this fall. Two are being built in St. Petersburg. One is near downtown at 845 Fourth St. N. A Watson's Food Town was demolished on that site. The second is in a more western location, at 34th Street N and 22nd Avenue and occupies the former site of a filling station. The third is in Pinellas Park at 7101 Park Blvd. and also is being built on a site where a gas station stood. "We are looking for markets with large populations and high growth rates," DeAngelis said of the company's expansion plans. "Certainly the markets we are moving into in Florida" fit that description. The chain has 32 stores in Florida. CVS opened in 1963 in Woonsocket, R.I., as Consumer Value Store. It is the largest pharmacy chain in the nation by number of stores and the second largest by sales behind Walgreen Co., DeAngelis said. At the end of July the CVS store count was 4,123 in 32 states.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
