New CVS Pharmacy Tentatively Planned in State College

Tentative plans for a new CVS Pharmacy at South Atherton Street and the University Drive Extension are getting a fresh look in State College.

Within a few months, the lease for the Ponderosa restaurant that’s now there, 1630 S. Atherton St., will expire and won’t be renewed, the borough Planning Commission learned last week.

Property owner Nicholas Heim and Kissinger Associates wants to tear down the existing restaurant building and lease the land to CVS, a Heim-Kissinger representative told the commission Thursday.

CVS would run a brand-new, 13,244-square-food pharmacy store on the lot, according to his presentation. The new store would include a drive-through window for prescription-drug customers.

But under State College zoning in that part of town, such vehicle-oriented businesses require conditional-use approval from the borough.

The Borough Council is expected to hear about the matter at its Monday meeting, and to schedule an upcoming public hearing on the conditional-use application. (The Monday meeting is slated for 7:30 p.m. in the State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St.)

A similar proposal for a CVS drug store at Atherton and University was presented to the borough early in 2010, but it was slowed over concerns that the business may sit too close to the adjacent Slab Cabin Run. The current proposal appears to alleviate that worry.

Earlier coverage

• Water Worries Derail CVS Plan for Atherton St. (May 25, 2010)