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CVS to build next to theater
Foundation sells land at Coliseum and University
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Published: November 5, 2009
CVS Caremark Corp. plans to build a CVS drugstore on a portion of the Hanes Community Center property at University Parkway and Coliseum Drive.
The United Arts on Coliseum Foundation, a nonprofit organization owned by the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and the United Way Foundation, has signed a contract to sell 1.75 acres of its overall 10.2 acres for the project, said Richard Emmett, the chief operating officer of the arts council. The price wasn't disclosed.
Emmett said that the United Arts foundation plans to sell a total of 4 acres. Two more parcels are available.
Emmett said that the property has been underused for the past several years.
"It has been a drain on the resources of both organizations, so the leadership of the arts council and United Way sat down and looked for a way that we could turn a liability into an asset," he said.
"We think selling that portion that has become a liability is the best answer."
The roots of the Hanes Community Center date back to 1956 when Charles H. Babcock -- a grandson of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds and a generous supporter of local arts and cultural organizations throughout his life -- gave the land to the arts council and United Way of Forsyth County.
Over the years, the center was developed into three buildings -- the Arts Council Theatre, one that housed the local chapter of the American Red Cross and another that most recently was home to Family Services Inc., which moved out last year to new offices at the Southeast Gateway.
This past fall, the United Arts foundation demolished the building vacated by Family Services.
Groups that will still have their offices at the Arts Council Theatre are the N.C. Black Repertory Company; Twin City Stage, formerly the Little Theater of Winston-Salem; and the Children's Theater.
And the Northwest North Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross will remain as a tenant indefinitely, Emmett said.
Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS, said that the company plans to start building a freestanding, 13,000-square-foot store in the first quarter of 2010 and open it within six months from then.
DeAngelis said that the University Parkway and Coliseum Drive site meets CVS's criteria of a "very visible and usually accessible location."
CVS likes to build on corner lots. A typical CVS employs 20 to 25 people.
"Our business is very convenience driven," he said.
"We need to be close to our customers and be at locations that are very easy for them to access so that they can get in and out of our stores easily, find what they are looking for and be able to make quick shopping trips."
DeAngelis said that CVS still hopes to build a store at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and New Walkertown Road to replace its existing store across the street at East Winston Shopping Center.
fdaniel@wsjournal.com
727-7366
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