Posted: 4/2/03

Walgreens will break ground soon in FL

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Construction of a new Walgreens in Forest Lake is expected to begin this spring, city of Forest Lake officials confirmed.

Semper Development, Limited, the developer for the new store, has secured the store site at 1207 W. Broadway Ave. and obtained all needed permits from the city, said City Administrator Chip Robinson this week.

Carol Hively, corporate spokeswoman for Walgreen Co. in Chicago, said the company has signed a lease for the store and expects to be open for business in late August. The store will be corporately owned and operated, she said.

The new Walgreens will be built on ground that today holds Hardeeís and the former St. Croix Jewelers buildings. Both buildings will be razed to make way for the new 14,200 square foot building.

Robinson said demolition is set to begin soon.

The city administrator said Semper Development has purchased the property from Robert Nelson. Nelson built and ran the restaurant there as Burger Chef before converting it to a Hardeeís.

The Hardeeís closed its doors recently in the wake of the pending demolition. The St. Croix Jewelers building was vacated last summer with the business now located in The Plaza, 56 E. Broadway Ave., under a new name, DiamondFind.

The Forest Lake Walgreens will be the 81st Walgreens store in Minnesota. The company operates more than 4000 drug stores in 43 states and Puerto Rico.

The new store in Forest Lake is another step for Walgreens and its steady expansion mode, Hively said.

Walgreens details

During the past five years, 2097 drugstores were opened and that number represents more than half of all existing Walgreens stores, she said.

During fiscal year 2002 which ended on Aug. 31, Walgreens opened 471 new stores. The company plans to open more than 450 stores in fiscal 2003.

More than 70 percent of the chain is freestanding and more than 2900 stores offer drive-thru prescription service. The Forest Lake store will have a drive-thru window.

Walgreen Co. reached $28.7 billion in sales during fiscal 2002, making it the nationís largest drugstore chain and 11th largest retailer, Hively said.

A typical Walgreens store is 14,500 square feet, which includes 11,000 square feet of sales area and carries more than 20,000 consumable items.

Each store employs 25-30 people and averages $7.1 million in annual sales. Nationwide, Walgreens stores serve 3.4 million customers daily, Hively said.

Fiscal year 2002 marked the companyís 28th consecutive year of record sales and earnings. Fortune magazine ranks Walgreens as the 54th largest company in America.

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