The final site plan for Peachtree City’s new Walgreens pharmacy was approved following Tuesday night’s planning commission meeting. The drugstore will take the place of the Ruby Tuesday restaurant, which was vacated late last month.
Firefighters and police were able to use the restaurant at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Peachtree Parkway in recent days for training purposes, which resulted in a few broken and removed windows, officials said.
The city is asking residents to use extreme caution during construction when they are using the Walgreens site to access Rite Aid and other businesses in the area, said Community Development Director David Rast.
The Walgreens, however, will only be about 1,000 square feet larger than its next-door competitor: Rite Aid pharmacy.
The Walgreens has drawn criticism from residents because of the proximity to Rite Aid and because the Walgreens building will be much closer to Ga. Highway 54 than the restaurant was.
But the planning commission won a number of concessions on the architectural and landscaping plans to help soften the presentation of the building.
The commission got the store’s main building sign shrunk a bit to make it fit within the architectural features on the column of the tower feature.
Developer United Retail has also committed to making sure the existing landscaping stays at the corner of the intersection, and is also adding landscaping islands to the site, including one on the Peachtree Parkway side to beef up screening of the store.
