Drugstore-chain rivals face off in Evans

EVANS — Two drugstore chains with headquarters east of the Mississippi are ready for a dust up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Illinois-based Walgreen plans to build a 14,000-square-foot store at the southwest corner of 35th Avenue and 37th Street, across the street from a new Eckerd store at the northeast corner of the same intersection. Both stores are likely to open early next year.

The dueling drug stores are called “a coincidence” by Jeff Kochevar of Edgemark Development, a Denver-based firm that represents Walgreen in Colorado.

But that’s not likely, according to one Greeley real estate broker who is familiar with the Walgreen-Eckerd competition in another part of the country. Richard Dendor of ABC Realty, who moved to Greeley 12 years ago from south Florida, said the two stores are fierce rivals in the Sunshine State and commonly build stores in close proximity.

“If Eckerd built 20 stores in Greeley, Walgreen would build 20 stores in Greeley,” Dendor said.

Dendor’s observation seems to be underlined in Windsor, where both companies are building stores. Walgreen plans to open a store at the northeast corner of 15th and Main streets by February. Eckerd has picked out the northwest corner of 7th and Main for its store.

So far, the Florida-based Eckerd Corp. has been the most aggressive in planning new stores in Northern Colorado. In addition to the Evans and Windsor sites, the company has three stores under development in Fort Collins, one in Greeley and one in Loveland.

Long-term plans call for four stores in the Greeley-Evans area, five in Fort Collins and three in Loveland.

Walgreen recently opened a new store at 37th Street and Garfield Avenue in Loveland. The company is also planning a second store in Loveland and a new store in Longmont, Kochevar said. Currently, no new stores are planned in Fort Collins, where Walgreen has two locations.

Walgreen and Eckerd are No. 1 and No. 4 respectively among the nation’s largest drugstore chains and both have promised fast growth in the near future. Walgreen, with about 4,100 stores, plans to have 7,000 by 2010. Eckerd, at 2,700 stores, announced plans earlier this year to add 1,000 stores by 2007.

The chain growth has been fueled by rising demand for prescription drugs among the Baby Boom generation, as well as the goal to fend off competition from grocery stores and discount stores that also offer pharmacy service.

Evans employs incentives

The drugstore rivalry is evidently a boost to Evans, which has encouraged retail development with financial incentives.

The city has waived building permit fees for both stores and has agreed to reimburse the costs of public improvements — i.e., landscaping and street improvements — incurred by each company. The reimbursements will come from a portion of the sales taxes that will be generated by the stores in future years.

Evans City Manager Bruce Eisenhauer estimated the two stores would together collect about $130,000 in sales taxes. The retailers will retain about 25 percent of the collections annually for a set length of time under the reimbursement plan.

“Evans’ business base is fairly low,” Eisenhauer said. “We’ve been willing to use these incentives to help attract people to see us and locate their business here.”

Eisenhauer said the incentives made the difference in persuading Walgreen to pick Evans over a location in Greeley.

The net gain of $100,000 a year in sales taxes represents a 4.7 percent boost in annual collections for Evans, based on this year’s estimated total of $2,085,000. Sales taxes are a key source of general fund budgets for Colorado municipalities.

The appearance of the two drugstores could also fan the flames for more retail activity at the 35th Avenue-37th Street intersection.

“I’d say it’s the new commercial hub in Evans,´ said Curtis Sears, a commercial broker for Renaissance Cos. of Greeley.

The first impact could be felt at the northwest corner of the intersection, where a 17-acre parcel dubbed Ashcroft Market Place is zoned for a grocery-anchored shopping center. “The owners of the northwest corner are in talks with grocery stores as we speak,´ said Sears, who represents Ashcroft Market Place.

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