Last October (2007), the Planning and Zoning Commission, at the urging of Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, voted to allow the construction of a Rite Aid on the corners of Main and Union Streets with an exception to town regulations against Drive-Thru windows on Main Street.
Here's what I wrote at the time:
After a lengthy presentation and public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to allow the construction of a new Rite Aid on the corner of Main and Union Streets. There was some public support, and support from the business community, but several individual residents stood up and argued against the drive-thru window in the rear of the building which requires changing the grade level of the back parking lot. Construction of that window then requires a tall retaining wall running nearly the entire length of Union Street. Residents also noted that allowing the exception for the drive-thru downtown opens the door for other businesses to request the same kind of accommodations.
Now Wall Street experts (and to be honest, who can trust them these days), are predicting that Rite Aid will not survive 2009. Here's what 247wallstreet.com has to say:
Rite Aid (RAD) trades at $.35 down from at 52-week high of $4.16. The pharmacy company has over 5,000 stores and Wall St. does not expect it to be profitable in the foreseeable future. The chain is a roll-up of the original company and Brooks and Eckerd stores which it acquired. With a debt load of over $6 billion, the firm is likely to falter. Competitors CVS Caremark (CVS) and Walgreen (WAG) would be happy to pick up the pieces. Rite Aid recently announced poor quarterly numbers and cut forecasts.
If that happens, what's to become of the big beautiful building on Main Street, with the ugly drive through and retaining wall?
5 comments:
Perhaps we'll become the only town in America with two giant Laser Tag arenas.
Two Laser Tag arenas! Now that would be wonderful. Maybe they could organize monthly competitions. By the way, we were laser tagging last night and the red team consisting of Mark, Pearse, Peter and myself defeated the blue team of Tenzin, Karma, Helen, Eric, Ariadne, and Amanda. It wasn't even close. We even destroyed their base about 5 times. In retrospect, I think it was unfair of us to steal Pearse from them before the game. He was the high scorer. (But that's because we were on the same team.)
While we are whipping Rite Aid for the legacy of their ugly retaining wall, I want to point out that the hospital retaining wall is a comparable eyesore. The fortress- like appearance pours salt onto the still open wound of its recent mindless demolitions. The design process for the new emergency wing disregarded Middletown's heritage and traditional downtown streetscape. If one were to consider the entire perimeter of the hospital property, just how much of it could be said to be mindful of the surrounding environment or to enhance the walkable residential neighborhood in which it exists?
I could not agree more with the Anonymous assessment of the exterior vision the Hospital presents to our dwarfed human world. Where is the respect for grass and trees and where was the Design Review Board when this inhospitable facade was embraced?
Where is the Design & Review Board EVER???? In its entire history? Same as it ever was.
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