Derby Walgreens Plan Won’t Close Current Tenants

It’s a statement Suds Laundromat owner Dave Arminio wants to shout from the heavens — the existing businesses in Red Raider Plaza will NOT be going out of business because of a planned redevelopment project there.

Arminio is concerned because he has seen a decline in his eight-month-old business since news reports hit the web announcing Walgreens Eastern Co., the plaza’s owner, wants to redevelop the site.

His customers have been making incorrect assumptions. His store is open now, it will be open during construction, and it will be open after the project is finished.

People think we are going to close,” Arminio said. We’re not. I have a lease. I’m here for the long haul.”

Arminio’s right, according to Walgreens representative Larry Brozek. Each tenant has a lease and those leases will be honored, Brozek said.

Walgreens is not looking to throw out old tenants to bring in new tenants.

Most of the tenants have relocation clauses. We will honor those and they will be relocated within the plaza,” Brozek said.

Tenants at Red Raider Plaza on Pershing Drive include long-time shops Radio Shack and N&S Smoke Junction and newer tenants such as Suds, Town Squire Diner and Crown Fried Chicken.

Walgreens wants to build a 14,500-square-foot Walgreens pharmacy that will anchor the new shopping center.

FILE PHOTOThe company has plans pending in front of the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission to give the aging plaza a much-needed facelift. The plans call for a partial demolition of the Xpect Discounts store to temporarily move existing tenants before the rest of the plaza is rebuilt.

The project is supposed to add some parking, improve traffic flow and fix water drainage problems on the flood-prone site.

Arminio said he’s excited about the redevelopment — even though it is going to force him to move his store within the plaza during construction.

I saw the plans, it looks absolutely spectacular,” Arminio said.

Xpect Discounts is the largest existing tenant in Red Raider Plaza, taking up some 70 percent of the retail space in the center.

It will be closing some time in April, the store’s owners announced earlier this month.

Walgreens knew Xpect was planning to leave Red Raider Plaza long before the company went public with their plans to close.

According to minutes from a January Derby Planning and Zoning meeting, Walgreens saw Xpect’s departure as a way to modernize and redesign the 4.6‑acre property. The meeting minutes are posted below.

Xpect’s closure gives the plaza owner the opportunity to transform Red Raider Plaza once again into a vibrant commercial center,” Walgreens representative Brozek told Derby officials in January.

Walgreens Plan

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