Two Pittsburgh Rite Aid locations could find new life.
The Rite Aid on Noblestown Road and the Rite Aid in Bloomfield in the West End could become a Walmart delivery depot that would allow for faster home delivery.
Known as a last mile delivery service, it’s where delivery drivers would pick up online orders.
City of Pittsburgh Councilwoman Kim Salinetro tells KDKA Radio the former pharmacy would become a “quick ship” site that would allow delivery drivers to quickly grab items for home deliveries to customers.
She tells KDKA Radio what she says a Walmart delivery hub, wouldn’t be open to the public so, it wouldn’t compete with the nearby Giant Eagle while also occupying a space that’s been abandoned for over a year.
Salinetro says the Department of City Planning told her about the proposed use for the site and that a zoning board meeting is planned for next week.
She adds that another similar location is planned at a former Rite Aid location in Howley Street in Bloomfield.
On Thursday, at a zoning board meeting, Walmart asked for a zoning exception to be classified as a grocery store. Griffin Bobbett represented to nation’s largest grocer.
“Limited products, based on demographics is what would be utilized here and so some of those items would be in the grocery category,” said Bobbett.
Aaron Pearlsyne was one of many Bloomfield residents who said Walmart is stretching the definition of a grocery store and others want to see a store that sells general merchandise directly to the public going into the space.
The shipping depots are typically stocked with the most in-demand items ordered online, including food, and thousands of other pieces of merchandise, working as an extension to a typical store’s inventory.
There is currently no timetable on when the depot might open, if the project gets the green light.
The spaces would be used to stock popular items for delivery
The spaces would be used to stock popular items for delivery
