The $4 million first phase of the redevelopment of Red Raider Plaza is just about ready to go, Derby officials said Thursday.
Red Raider Plaza is a shopping center at the intersection of Pershing Drive and Division Street. Stores on the Division Street side include a Radio Shack and a restaurant. Stores on Pershing include a laundromat and a smoke shop. The property also includes the former Xpect Discounts.
The shopping center is owned by the Walgreens Co. The company will eventually build a new pharmacy with a drive-through.
The redevelopment has already received a green light from Derby Planning and Zoning.
And on Thursday, Derby building official David Kopjanski said the Delaware Limited Co. applied for permits from his office. They’re representing Walgreens.
It’s a strong sign Walgreens is ready to start the job.
“The end result is going to be a beautiful new shopping center,” Derby Mayor Anthony Staffieri said.
Walgreens will move the existing tenants (Radio Shack and its neighbors) to the space where Xpect Discounts used to be. That building will be subject to extensive renovations.
Walgreens will eventually tear down the part of the shopping center that now houses Radio Shack and its neighboring shops. The new Walgreens pharmacy will be built there.
The so-called “first phase” of the project involves moving the tenants.
Walgreens basically has everything it needs from the City of Derby to get going — but permits from Derby can’t be officially granted until the Connecticut Traffic Commission green lights the project’s traffic plan.
That should happen soon, city officials said.
The current traffic pattern in the shopping center is a motorist’s nightmare, particularly on the Pershing Drive side of Red Raider Plaza, across from Shop Rite. That five-way intersection will be improved, Kopjanski said.
Progress on the Walgreens front is also good news for the former Valley Bowl, where a Panera Bread and an Aldi supermarket are scheduled to be built.
The two shopping centers will share a driveway. The new Valley Bowl owners, who also have approvals to go from Derby, have been waiting for the state’s traffic commission to approve the Walgreens traffic layout.
Walgreens first proposed to redevelop Red Raider Plaza in 2011.
The project was delayed by a lawsuit from the Shop Rite plaza owner, who expressed concerns over the traffic pattern within Red Raider. The two sides eventually worked out an agreement.
