Walgreens Drug Store Again Proposed

For South Main Street

By Andrew Gorosko

A proposal to build a Walgreens Drug Store on the busy corner of South Main Street and Mile Hill Road has again surfaced, with the developer for the project pursuing approval for drive-through window service for the pharmacy.

The developer has not yet submitted a formal application for the project.

The 47-49 South Main Street site, which has been vacant for several years, formerly held Newtown Tire and Service, Newtown Oil Company, Trudeau Service Center, and Trudeau Oil Company, among other businesses.

A July 2005 proposal to build a Walgreens Drug Store there, which was pursued by a another developer, did not materialize. That proposal also included a request for drive-through window service, which proved to be a stumbling block for the project.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing the developer at a March 20 P&Z session, urged the P&Z to allow Walgreens to have a drive-through window at the facility for the convenience of customers. Local banks are allowed to have drive-through windows, he noted.

The CVS Pharmacy at Newtown Shopping Village at 6 Queen Street in the borough has a drive-through window, Mr Hall said. That area, however, is under the jurisdiction of the Borough Zoning Commission. 

The town zoning regulations do not address drive-through windows as a permitted land use. However, banks typically receive approvals for drive-through windows as part of their construction applications.

The P&Z does not formally permit drive-through windows in its regulations as a way to discourage fast-food restaurants from locating in town. Similarly, the P&Z limits the size of retail stores to 40,000 square feet as a way to discourage very large stores from locating here.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean noted that an existing local pharmacy delivers to its customers, if requested. The P&Z has only allowed banks to have drive-through windows, she said.

“I’m unclear why we need another pharmacy,” Ms Dean said.

A segment of the pharmacy industry opposes drug stores with drive-through windows, said P&Z member Robert Mulholland. He asked why a drive-through window is a necessary element of a drug store.

The value of drive-through windows at pharmacies is overestimated, according to P&Z member James Belden.

 Mr Belden expressed concern that allowing a drug store to have a drive-through window may amount to “opening up Pandora’s box” in terms of other types of businesses seeking drive-through windows.

Commercial developer Robin Eshaghpour of Sutphin Properties of Jamaica, N.Y., and architect Steven Rabinoff of Flushing, N.Y., attended the March 20 P&Z to promote the Walgreens proposal. A Walgreens representative, however, did not attend.

Walgreens wants to occupy a 14,000 square-foot building on the street corner, which would have 60 parking spaces.

P&Z members discussed at length the traffic aspects of having a large drug store located in that area, which has heavy traffic. One P&Z member suggested placing speed bumps on the development site to hold down travel speeds.

After the P&Z’s discussion, Mr Hall said the developer plans to submit a P&Z application for a Walgreens Drug Store under the Special Development District (SDD) section of the South Main Street Village Design District (SMSVDD) zoning regulations.

In 2005, when a Walgreens Drug Store was proposed for the site, much of the P&Z discussion focused on whether to allow a drive-through window for the business. Also, that proposal did not meet certain P&Z vehicle parking requirements.

The recent SMSVDD and SDD zoning rules create a mechanism through which a developer may be able to gain P&Z approvals for aspects of a project that were not permitted under the commercial zoning regulations that were in effect in 2005.

In 2005, then-P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said that allowing a pharmacy to have a drive-through window might be setting the stage for variety of drive-through businesses locally.