Rite Aid in Robertsdale will soon become Walgreens

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 3/28/18

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Rite Aid store on Alabama 104 in the current Winn Dixie Shopping Center will soon be a Walgreens.

The Robertsdale City Council voted at its meeting Monday to recommend …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get the gift of local news. All subscriptions 50% off for a limited time!

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

Rite Aid in Robertsdale will soon become Walgreens

Posted

ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — The Rite Aid store on Alabama 104 in the current Winn Dixie Shopping Center will soon be a Walgreens.

The Robertsdale City Council voted at its meeting Monday to recommend the transfer of off premise retail beer and wine licensing through the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) from Rite Aid to Walgreens.

In a press release issued in September of last year, Rite Aid announced the sale of 1,932 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid, based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, to Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), based in Deerfield, Illinois, for an all-cash purchase price of $4.375 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Under the amended and restated agreement, Rite Aid will retain approximately 250 additional stores as compared to the prior agreement announced between Rite Aid and WBA in June 2017, resulting in a reduction in the transaction sale price. The decision to retain these stores follows discussions between Rite Aid and WBA, as well as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

The 1,932 stores included in the amended agreement are primarily located in the Northeast and Southern regions of the United States. The three distribution centers are located in Dayville, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Spartanburg, South Carolina. Under the terms of the amended agreement, Rite Aid will provide certain transition services to WBA for up to three years after the closing of the transaction.

According to the release, the transfer of ownership was expected to begin in October of 2017 with the goal of completing the transfer of all stores in the spring of 2018.

In addition to Robertsdale, Rite Aid has locations in Fairhope, Foley, Orange Beach and Spanish Fort, while Walgreens has existing locations in Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores and Spanish Fort.

Southeastern Grocers recently announced that it will be closing 94 stores in seven states, including Winn Dixie stores in Robertsdale, Daphne and Gulf Shores locally.

In other business Monday, city officials said they would be saving more than $200,000 by refinancing 2009 Water, Sewer and Electric Revenue Warrants.

Britton Henig with Frazier Lanier met with council members at the March 5 meeting. Three options were presented to the council March 19 for consideration.

The first option was a straight refunding keeping the maturity date at 30 years (2039); reducing the monthly debt payment by an average of $593.89 per month, reducing the interest rate from 5.113638 percent to 3.59068 percent for a net savings of $153,069.87.

The second option was to maintain the debt payment, shaving two years off the maturity date while cutting the payment by just $91.88 at 3.507107 percent interest for a savings of $169,709.31.

The council voted for the third option, which would increase the monthly payment by $1,713.72, but would reduce the maturity by six years and cut the interest rate to 3.351088 percent, a savings of $201,397.78.

“This is what we’ve done with all of our other refinanced warrants,” said chief financial officer Ann Simpson. “That’s worked out well for us and that’s what I recommend.”

Also on March 19, the council:

•Voted to recommend a temporary ABC License to Catholic Social Services for the Gulf Coast Crawfish and BBQ Festival.

•Voted to create a Sanitation Department Enterprise Fund, removing the Sanitation Department from the General Fund Budget.