New Walgreens pharmacy will stock specialized drugs

Walgreen Co., with an ambitious goal to expand its footprint in Hawaii, will open a pharmacy at 615 Pii­koi St. next year.

The pharmacy will carry medications for patients with complex medical conditions like cancer, HIV and other critical diseases, Walgreens spokes­man Phil Caruso said in an email. He didn’t have a specific opening date.

"You can always get those medications at any Walgreens, but this location will specialize in those medications," he said.

The pharmacy will have some items found in a full Walgreens store but not all.

"It won’t have as much retail. It will typically sell health and wellness or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, but it wouldn’t have a wide selection of food and grocery or household items."

Walgreens’ Hawaii flagship location is under construction about two blocks away from Pii­koi on the corner of Kapiolani Boulevard and Kee­au­moku Street.

Caruso didn’t immediately know the square footage of the Pii­koi pharmacy, but said the retailer will likely hire between five and seven workers, far fewer than the roughly 30 employees it hires for a typical 14,500-square-foot store.

The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain has 18 locations in Hawaii. It most recently opened in Wai­pahu on Saturday and in Wai­luku, Maui, in February.

The company is planning to open a downtown location on Hotel Street by the end of the month and its renovated Kee­au­moku Street store in early 2015. An outlet in Lihue also is in the works for next year, as is a store at the Market City Shopping Center near Wai­kiki.

The Keeaumoku store was the first Walgreens to open in the islands in 2007. It was later closed when construction began to expand the store.

As reported in July, Walgreens is offering to sell its Kee­au­moku store, which the company would lease back. Walgreens is also offering to sell an adjacent office building. The two sites could be used for one or two condominium towers.