Walgreens to raze first isle store

Walgreens is preparing to demolish and rebuild its Keeaumoku Street store, the first it built in Hawaii.

The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain, which opened the store on the corner of Keeaumoku and Kapiolani Boulevard in 2007, plans to redevelop the site into a two-level store this summer, said spokesman Robert Elfinger. An adjacent KFC, the land under which is owned by Walgreens, also will be demolished to make way for more parking, he said.

While construction is under way at 1488 Kapiolani Blvd., the company will operate a pharmacy across the street, Elfinger said.

The Keeaumoku employees will be moved to other locations, he said.

The company has 14 stores in Hawaii and plans to open new stores in Ewa and Nuuanu in June. It also plans to open a store in Lihue on Kauai but hasn’t said when.

Walgreens said it will reopen the Keeaumoku store in late 2014.

Walgreens typically spends about $5 million when building an average size, or 14,500-square-foot, store from the ground up, and eventually plans to open between 25 and 30 Hawaii outlets.