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Walgreens images on display
Published Monday, June 16, 2008
City council members on Monday got a glimpse of the future Fergus Falls Walgreens, a roughly 14,000 square-foot building featuring a brick exterior and a pharmacy pick-up window.
The store’s main entrance will sit on the building’s southeast side toward Lincoln Avenue, said John Kohler, an architect with Semper Development who spoke at Monday’s meeting. A single lane will run alongside a pharmacy pick-up window on the building’s north side, where an alley is currently located. An enclosed service area will be located on Vine Street across from Movie Gallery.
Among the displays Kohler brought to the meeting was an image of the store set into a photo of Lincoln and Vine.
“That’s actually a photo that was taken about two weeks ago,” Kohler said. “And that’s what that finished building will actually look like. In fact, one of the people I work with, when that came in, said ‘I didn’t think we’d done that building yet.’”
Walgreens will employ 30 to 40 people, Kohler said, with about half of them full-time.
The Walgreens project moved one step further Monday with the first reading of an ordinance to vacate a portion of the alley between Lincoln and Cavour Avenues. The second reading will take place at the July 7 council meeting, allowing Semper Development to close on surrounding properties and prepare construction drawings for a building permit.
That preparation plus the permit process will take time, Kohler said, so residents shouldn’t expect to see construction this summer.
“We obviously want to get in the ground this fall — beat winter,” he said.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by NeedMoreInfo (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Could you post a picture of the future Fergus Falls Walgreens?
Posted by NeedMoreInfo (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you!
Posted by cheif (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That looks so much better than what it currently looks like in that area of downtown
Posted by lart (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the city plans to put a traffic light at that intersection.
Posted by cheif (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 10:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't know, lart... Putting one that close to the intersection by the Qwest/Park Region building could cause some problems if traffic got backed up long enough.
Posted by hiqtpi (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i agree that something DEFINATELY needs to be done about that intersection. it's pretty pathetic that cars cannot stop long enough to allow crossing for an elderly person with a walker, someone in a wheelchair or a mother pushing a stroller with more kids in tow. of course cars WILL stop to allow someone riding a bicycle to cross. it is my understanding,according to local law enforcement, that bicycles need to follow the flow of traffic and also stop at stopsigns and wait for oncoming traffic. am i wrong here? sorry, i may be getting off the subject of walgreens but i am assuming there will be much more traffic flow around this area now. i work in the area and i see what goes on in this intersection. it scares me! i have actually walked out myself to help someone gain access to the pedestrian crosswalk when no one will stop for them. come on fergus drivers, think about someone other than yourselves! maybe a 4-way stop will help?
Posted by PD (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Perhaps Walgreens and Service Food could put in an overpass pedestrian bridge with elevators and stairs at each end to accommodate the foot traffic.
Posted by bucksteel (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe pedestrians could walk a block or so east and cross at the stoplights. More exercise would do us all a little good.
Posted by lart (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree to the exercise comment, but it is not that simple for the elderly. I also agree that I see more vehicles NOT stop for pedestrians than actually stop. Exercise a little more courtesy please.
Posted by 1125thmp (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Then, when you have found the shrubbery,
you must place it here, beside this shrubbery, only slightly
higher, so we get the two-level effect with a little path
running down the middle.
Posted by farawaythankgod (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 4:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is so beautiful. In list of architecture I would place it somewhere between the Taj Mahal and the Pissoir at the SW corner of the Place Pigalle in Paris.
Posted by frankenfurter (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 6:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I would rather liken it to a Mies Van Der Rohe Bauhaus creation from the 1940's. It would be called "Der Precast concrete PolebarN." And it even has a parking lot big enough to hold 150 cars, which coincidentally is exactly how many FF residents would converge upon said Walgreens at the same time in order to buy overpriced house-brand batteries and cheap plastic toys.
Seriously, folks. I don't see how you can get so excited over a walgreens. It's just another place to get halloween costumes and stool softener. I guess if it makes 30 more people happy to get 4.75 an hour, then you're all set. You call it progress-I call it characterless chain sprawl.
It looks almost as outrageous as that ugly cement-gulag that is the new dairy queen on the other side of town. I almost wonder whether if you pull up beside it, you would be served a dilly bar by a disheveled prisoner of war with a ball and chain attatched to their ankle?
Posted by cheif (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The average Walgreen's employe makes $9 - I found this online.. Minimum wage is $6.15. Frankenfurter, you have to agree that the new Walgreen's building will look a hell of a lot better than what's currently there.
Posted by justme (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree that the intersection is and will continue to be a problem. Why not a stoplight like the one between the Armory and the Middle School, that could be activated by pedestrians?
And cheif, if you take into account managers' and pharmacists' salaries, you're going to come up with an average hourly rate that is higher than minimum. Unfortunately, what these places tend to do is employ far more part-time than full-time workers, so no one can really make a living off of it.
Posted by 1125thmp (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 9:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Organic buildings are the strength and lightness of the spiders' spinning, buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to environment, married to the ground.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Touche Frankenfurter, comme il faut
Posted by Night_Owl (anonymous) on June 17, 2008 at 11:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What's all the guff? Is moving into the 21st century really the issue here? Following this project, I would urge them took move directly West and begin revitalizing the mall. Stimulate this economy not Fargo or Alexandria.
Posted by Flashbang (anonymous) on June 18, 2008 at 6:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Where will they build the CVS Pharmacy? If you ever get out east, whenever you see a Walgreens, you see a CVS right across the street.
Posted by really (anonymous) on June 18, 2008 at 8:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's the same way in the Cities - where ever a Walgreens is there is always a CVS down the street.
Posted by bucksteel (anonymous) on June 20, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, let's put a stop light there, just like the one by the Middle School. That way, when I'm on Vine, I can jump out of my car and push the button so I can stop the traffic on Lincoln and drive thru with my car.
Posted by Sumwun (anonymous) on June 21, 2008 at 5:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's nice that there's still some businesses that still think there's some appeal to putting a building in Fergus. I think it'll do well and it will definitely look way better than the ugly buildings that are there now, plus it's nice they put this close to downtown instead of sticking it way out on the west end kind of by that nice new strip mall behind Arby's that's booming with business interest.
Posted by buzzman55 (anonymous) on June 22, 2008 at 12:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
TO TAKE TRAFFIC CONGESTION OFF THE PROPOSED AREA I RECOMMEND THAT A STARGATE BE MADE WHICH WOULD TELA-PORT TRAFFIC THROUH A WORMHOLE ON THE OTHERSIDE OF THE STRRET.
Posted by bucksteel (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 1:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Please don't use all CAPS - you don't have to YELL to be heard.
Posted by frankenfurter (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not so fast, ChIef....Depends on what type of employer Walgreens is classified as. If classification is based upon the sales of the single store making less than 625k a year, minimum wage is 5.25 an hour. Otherwise, based on the chain it would be 6.15 an hour. Regardless, they would pay employees based on the avg. income and wages paid in the area, which aren't very high and would probably come barely over five bucks an hour. It's a part time job. That's how chain corporations make so much money.
I agree that the building that family dollar used to be in is ugly and has no further use, but they are also planning on tearing down two nice homes behind it, and taking down three small old brick faced buildings which still have a lot of potential for small business. Otherwise you have a goliath chain swallowing up an entire block and taking down all of the trees for an oversized parking lot. They wanted the WHOLE block, but the other owners wouldn't sell. Those of you who call it "progress" or "getting into the 21st century need to take the wax out of your ears-chains drive small businesses out of town, especially in smaller communities. In another 20 years, the whole stretch of downtown buildings will be torn down and replaced with parking lots and windowless precast concrete buildings. There are some people who appreciate character and architecture, and then there are those who don't give a da*n.
Granted, an Arby's comes to town and you guys think it's some sort of fine unique dining establishment.
Posted by Confused (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 9:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I see this as Fergus Falls promoting more of what we don't need. This is like saying we need more fast food joints, c-stores, and churches. Get the mall going already, or buy it for pennies on the dollar tear it down and put the dump there. It seems that is the way the city is heading! Fergus Falls is not very good looking no matter what direction you come in from!
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