The Walgreens store at Five Points in downtown Atlanta, a landmark for its art deco design and iconic Coca-Cola sign on its roof, is expected to close next month.
The location at 25 Peachtree St. SE in the historic Olympia Building will close April 9, according to signs posted on the premises, a blow to downtown residents, Georgia State University students and workers who frequented the store, which has a pharmacy, and sells some groceries and other goods.
Encore Real Estate Development and Skanska renovated the Great Depression-era building for Walgreens and its design by architecture firm ASD|SKY won recognition from the Atlanta Regional Commission. The pharmacy opened in 2016.
Marty Maloney, a spokesperson for Walgreens, called the planned closure a “difficult decision.” He said “existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers” were factors.
When the pharmacy chain decided it wanted to take over the long-vacant space, it approached local residents first, said Kyle Kessler, policy and research director for the nonprofit Center for Civic Innovation and a downtown resident since 2006.
“They were interested in the community and not just coming in to do a business deal, but were interested in serving needs in downtown,” Kessler said.
The Walgreens design nodded to its nearly 100-year old history, with art deco signage keeping the vintage feeling of the facade.
In 2018, Walgreens launched a significant cost cutting effort and slashed hundreds of stores. The pharmacy chain extended that program through the end of this year. As of November, the company had cut 563 U.S. locations, according to a recent regulatory filing.
But the downtown Walgreens’ impending closure will leave a hole in the local community. Georgia State student Golden Uzoma, 20, frequents the store about once a week. She said she was shocked and sad to see it was closing,…
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