• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

A CVS Pharmacy will soon be opening in Westwood where Copeland Sports used to be located.

Photo

Joining a long list of pharmacies, CVS Pharmacy will be moving into Westwood Village in coming months – and local businesses are upset.

Many Westwood Village tenants said another pharmacy is unwelcome, “redundant retail” and would rather see more unique storefronts that could spark commercial activity.

Other pharmacies in the area include Longs Drugs, Ralphs, Rite Aid and an under-construction Sav-on Drugs one block south of Wilshire.

“Like we need one more,” said Giselle Stronhendl, designer and gemologist at Muriel Chastanet fine jewelry designs, when she heard CVS Pharmacy will be moving to Westwood.

“I don’t know how that can be supported,” she said. “We need nice boutiques, not more generic chain stores that are on every corner, and especially not another pharmacy when we already have Longs and Rite Aid.”

Chastanet said she wants to see “good times” return to Westwood Village businesses, which would mean bringing character and individuality back.

Some of the area’s pharmacists also said the market is weak for another pharmacy.

“The West Los Angeles pharmacy business is already very saturated,” said Nancy Li, a pharmacist at Longs Drugs.

“I do not think we need another retail pharmacy, especially when lots of patients get their prescriptions filled at local hospitals around UCLA,” she added.

Clinton Schudy of Oakley’s Barber Shop said he has repeatedly heard that local businesses wish to diversify the types of stores and services available.

Instead of another “totally redundant” pharmacy, he said he would prefer to see more shopping retail and social places, like bars and dance clubs, which would make Westwood a shopping destination.

Joseph Melamed, owner of Gypsy Cafe, echoed these sentiments.

“We need to keep our children in the Village,” he said, suggesting that Westwood offer more late-night entertainment facilities to entice students to stay near campus when looking for fun and relaxation.

He expressed regret that Westwood Village has been beaten out by venues like Universal City Walk, the Third Street Promenade and the Grove.

“A pharmacy will be just another dark corner,” Melamed said.

The CVS Pharmacy will occupy the basement and ground level floors of the building formerly leased by Copeland Sports on the southwest corner of Westwood Boulevard and Weyburn Avenue, said Greg Luskin, site supervisor for Spectrum Construction, which is currently working on the new CVS cite.

The UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute will remain in the upper story above CVS.

“I believe it was CVS Pharmacy’s hope to be moved in by the new year when they will be opening several other CVS stores in the California area,” Luskin said, adding that construction might take a few extra months.

Mike DeAngelis, CVS Corporate spokesman, said CVS had no announcements regarding a store in Westwood at this time.

Nevertheless, plans are under way to remove a wall, put in a stair case and elevator, and install steel beams and concrete columns to prepare the brick structure for the new arrival.

Many business owners are skeptical of CVS Pharmacy’s chance at making a profit.

Pharmacies in Westwood are already in competition, and there may not be enough consumers to go around.

Ralphs and Longs, located in the same complex, already battle for the same customers. Many opt for Ralphs, which has street exposure and allows people to buy groceries while getting prescriptions .

While many Westwood businesses are opposed to a new pharmacy, some UCLA students are also wary of CVS Pharmacy’s place in Westwood.

Marisol Aguilar, a fifth-year art history and classical civilization student, said she chooses Longs because the store offers two hours, as opposed to 20 minutes, of validated parking.

“What perk will CVS Pharmacy offer me so that I will shop there?” she asked.