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ASK SKIP: The pharma jungle at the junction
We’ve had two questions about the new construction at the junction of Rts. 113 and 23 (Nutt/Schuylkill Road and Kimberton Road):
QUESTION: What is the new building across from Rite Aid going to be? I heard rumors that it is another Rite Aid, and that the other one will just close down. I sincerely hope this isn't true. What's the deal?
QUESTION: What's the word on the construction at the old General Pike Hotel location (Kimberton & Nutt Roads)? Keep hearing various answers - CVS - Sheetz - Wawa - RiteAid - etc. Does anyone really know?
We’re going to be able to provide only partial answers here, for now.
The current construction at the southwest corner of that site is, indeed, of a Rite Aid pharmacy. The land development plan for the site was approved by the Borough Planning Commission and Borough Council.
At last word, no decision had been made about the future of the Eckerd-now-it’s-a-Rite Aid directly across Schuylkill Road, nor about the Rite Aid farther south on Kimberton Road in Maple Shade.
We know that other construction was proposed for the areas west and south of the construction now underway. That portion of the site is, however, within Schuylkill Township boundaries and not within the Borough.
Multiple calls to Schuylkill Township offices to confirm the present status of subdivision and land development plans before the Township were not returned. You can Ask Skip, but it seems Schuylkill Township doesn’t want to Tell Skip. The best of unofficial sources, however, say that both a Wawa food market and a CVS/pharmacy are planned there.
The municipal boundary matter, you see, has defined more than just geography here. Even Borough sources cannot confirm what’s happening with the Schuylkill portion of the property; Borough Planning Commission members had attempted, as late as a year and a half ago, to raise the issue of inter-municipal cooperation on problems that would be common to proposals on adjoining properties sharing driveways and two state routes on their borders. “We were frozen out,” said Borough PC chair Deb Johnston said then. There seem to have been no attempts to renew conversations since that time.
But attempts were made by the Borough to have PennDOT, which must grant final permission for construction in areas abutting state rights-of-way to move ahead, serve as a kind of “back channel” to inform both municipalities about what was going on. PennDOT would not do so, on the grounds that all development applications are handled by PennDOT separately.
Of course, there’s the elephant-in-the-room of a question: how is it possible that two pharmacies, or three, expect to survive on that corner, and how nine retail drug facilities of a variety of sorts within a mile of each other are expected do so.
Retail pharma marketers seem to be able to conjure statistics that are persuasive, indeed explicable, only to themselves. And maybe to partner developers. Perhaps to some municipal boards. But not to the general public.
Posted by
Skip Lawerence
You can email you questions for skip to askskip@phoenixvillenews.com
QUESTION: What is the new building across from Rite Aid going to be? I heard rumors that it is another Rite Aid, and that the other one will just close down. I sincerely hope this isn't true. What's the deal?
QUESTION: What's the word on the construction at the old General Pike Hotel location (Kimberton & Nutt Roads)? Keep hearing various answers - CVS - Sheetz - Wawa - RiteAid - etc. Does anyone really know?
We’re going to be able to provide only partial answers here, for now.
The current construction at the southwest corner of that site is, indeed, of a Rite Aid pharmacy. The land development plan for the site was approved by the Borough Planning Commission and Borough Council.
At last word, no decision had been made about the future of the Eckerd-now-it’s-a-Rite Aid directly across Schuylkill Road, nor about the Rite Aid farther south on Kimberton Road in Maple Shade.
We know that other construction was proposed for the areas west and south of the construction now underway. That portion of the site is, however, within Schuylkill Township boundaries and not within the Borough.
Multiple calls to Schuylkill Township offices to confirm the present status of subdivision and land development plans before the Township were not returned. You can Ask Skip, but it seems Schuylkill Township doesn’t want to Tell Skip. The best of unofficial sources, however, say that both a Wawa food market and a CVS/pharmacy are planned there.
The municipal boundary matter, you see, has defined more than just geography here. Even Borough sources cannot confirm what’s happening with the Schuylkill portion of the property; Borough Planning Commission members had attempted, as late as a year and a half ago, to raise the issue of inter-municipal cooperation on problems that would be common to proposals on adjoining properties sharing driveways and two state routes on their borders. “We were frozen out,” said Borough PC chair Deb Johnston said then. There seem to have been no attempts to renew conversations since that time.
But attempts were made by the Borough to have PennDOT, which must grant final permission for construction in areas abutting state rights-of-way to move ahead, serve as a kind of “back channel” to inform both municipalities about what was going on. PennDOT would not do so, on the grounds that all development applications are handled by PennDOT separately.
Of course, there’s the elephant-in-the-room of a question: how is it possible that two pharmacies, or three, expect to survive on that corner, and how nine retail drug facilities of a variety of sorts within a mile of each other are expected do so.
Retail pharma marketers seem to be able to conjure statistics that are persuasive, indeed explicable, only to themselves. And maybe to partner developers. Perhaps to some municipal boards. But not to the general public.
Posted by
Skip Lawerence
You can email you questions for skip to askskip@phoenixvillenews.com
posted by The Phoenix Files at
9:12 AM
4 Comments:
399 words of reply
0 words of answer
Wow, Skip - This seems to be a job for a real investigative reporter. Evidently the township Supervisors conducted all the necessary hearings and approval for work permits, etc., in closed door sessions. No one knows anything, not even PennDoT who must have given permission to break way for a driveway into State Route 23.
Perhaps we'll have to get the big guns in from Action News to get the facts.
Business as usual in Northern Chester County? Treat the citizens as mushrooms?
Hey, I'm glad there will be two pharmacies across the street from each other. Then if I feel like turning left, I'll go into one, but if I feel like turning right I'll go into the other.
Then I can do eenie-meenie-miney-moe and decide on Rite Aid or CVS.
Maybe Sears Hardware will close and Genuardi's can move into there - then we can have Genuardi's next to Giant....
This sounds like a very classy guy The Chicken Cacciatore Project<<<<< I bet this classy guy is really a chicken @$$....Keep up the good writing Skip!
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