Feature Photo: Construction Continues at Future Walgreens Site

As 2012 winds down and October becomes November, residents and Woodward Avenue commuters are wondering: what's happening with the Walgreens at the old Borders location?

According to memos presented at the Oct. 15 Birmingham City Commission meeting, Walgreens — which is working to move into the former Borders store at 34300 Woodward Ave. — is neck-deep in renovations and is currently checking off the last requirements for the issuance of a building permit.

According to the Lormax Stern Development Company, Walgreens is still set to open this fall.

Plans for Walgreens received final approval by the Birmingham City Commission on Feb. 13. Walgreens plans to transform the nearly 30,000-square-foot space with an upscale pharmacy on the first floor and Walgreens' regional headquarters housed in a second-floor office space.

On Monday, Birmingham City Commissioners approved a request from Walgreens for an easement for sidewalk ingress and egress, and signed a street light agreement with DTE Energy for the site.

While the windows are boarded up now and construction crews are focusing on replacing the parking lot, Walgreens will also be replacing the sidewalk along Woodward. Walgreens will also need to install new street lights along Haynes and Woodward.

Walgreens management first signed a letter of intent for the space with the building's landlord last October. The pharmacy replaces the former Borders store, which closed in September 2011 after the chain declared bankruptcy earlier that summer.