Walgreens cleared for Broad Street Borders location

By Joseph N. DiStefano and inquirer staff writer
Posted: June 15, 2012

A proposed "flagship Walgreens" store modeled on similar stores on New York's Wall Street and Chicago's Michigan Avenue has won city zoning approval for the three-story, 26,000-square-foot former Borders bookstore at Broad and Chestnut Streets in Center City, said Larry Steinberg, the real estate broker who runs Fameco's Center City office.

As with Marshall's recent decision to lease a vacant Staples at 1046 Market, the move by Walgreen Co. marks another mass-market chain's expansion in Center City, an aging office center that's increasingly popular as a residential neighborhood.

"It'll have a pharmacy, all right, but also takeout salads, sushi, a wellness center where you can see a physician, a nail salon, maybe a hair salon," Steinberg said. He said the multiple services are designed "to get you into the space and support their pharmacy and drugstore operation on the third floor." Walgreen hopes to open the store this fall, hiring "a lot of people," he added.

Walgreen isn't planning to consolidate any of its existing stores into the "flagship" location. "Walgreens is under-stored in Center City," Steinberg said.

Wednesday's approval by the Board of Zoning Adjustment followed at least seven months of talks with the Washington Square West Civic Association, deputy mayor for economic development Alan Greenberger, and the city Planning Commission in which Walgreen promised to limit the use of signs in its windows.

Contact Joseph N. DiStefano at 215-854-5194, JoeD@phillynews.com or @PhillyJoeD on Twitter.

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