Walgreens stores coming to two busy intersections

The national drugstore chain's new additions will be in Clearwater and Belleair Bluffs.

By CHRISTINA K. COSDON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 15, 2001

Walgreens is coming to the southeast corner of Nursery and Belcher roads. The store will be built in the style of the 100-year-old company's new free-standing model that has been popping up on corners at busy intersections throughout Pinellas County.

RKM Development of St. Petersburg is developing the 1.5-acre property into a full-service Walgreens with a drive-through pharmacy. Construction of the 14,490-square-foot Clearwater store began in mid-October and is expected to be completed by the end of April, said RKM president Bill Lloyd.

Several miles to the west, in Belleair Bluffs, planning continues for a free-standing Walgreens in that community.

A Walgreens store has been in a shopping center in Belleair Bluffs since early 1985, but now the company wants to put its new model in a more visible spot at the southeast corner of West Bay Drive and Indian Rocks Road.

In June, Belleair Bluffs city commissioners gave Paradise Development Group of Safety Harbor permission to develop 1.7 acres at the southeast corner of West Bay Drive and Indian Rocks Road.

Final site plans should be approved sometime next month, said Owen Ewing, Paradise's vice president of development. Construction is scheduled to begin in late May or early June, he said.

The triangular piece of property is in both Belleair Bluffs and Largo, and the two cities will share in the property taxes, Ewing said.

A retail center, Bel Forest Shopping Center, and a long-closed Mobil station will have to be demolished before construction can start. Paradise has offered some financial compensation and help with moving to the businesses operating in the center, businesses that include Jim's Meat Market, Black Cat catering and gourmet shop, Wine Warehouse and Inspirational Elegance women's apparel.

Walgreen Co. has more than 3,600 stores in 43 states and Puerto Rico. The majority of those stores, more than 500, are in Florida, more than in the company's home state of Illinois.

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