Abandoned CVS building demolished in Carrboro

The abandoned, run-down building in Carrboro that stood on property owned by CVS was finally demolished on Tuesday.

CVS planned to build a new pharmacy on the property in 2013, but the town of Carrboro rejected their proposal because of parking and buffering concerns. The building remained neglected from then on until its demolition.

The struggle over the property began before Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle was elected. Lavelle said it has been a prominent issue during her time in office.

“It’s actually the number one concern I’ve heard about from people since I took office three years ago,” she said.

The building stood on the intersection of North Greensboro Street and West Weaver Street, two heavily-traveled roads. Lavelle said the town did not want a building in such a state of disrepair in such a prominent location.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to reach out to CVS about the building several times, and they always listened to me, but didn’t make much movement,” she said.

The town gained some traction in getting the building torn down when they passed an ordinance in November 2016. The ordinance granted town officials the authority to ask owners of vacant non-residential property to perform an inspection if the town has safety concerns.

After the town passed the ordinance, CVS was given a notice requesting that they inspect the vacant building on their Carrboro property. According to the inspection, the property was unsafe.

“Something had to be done immediately,” said Carrboro Planning Director Trish McGuire. “The option was presented to the property owners’ representative of taking the building down, and they chose to pursue that.”

Board of Aldermen member Damon Seils said he and other Carrboro residents have been waiting a long time to see it gone.

“After the previous proposal didn’t move forward, probably some frustration led the property owners to divert their attention to other properties,” Seils said.

He said that this, combined with a change in real estate agents, was likely to be the reason for the longstanding neglect of the property.

McGuire said the property owners have submitted a new rezoning application with the Carrboro city planning department for a new building and parking plan. She said this application is expected to go before the Carrboro Board of Aldermen in the third week of March.

This application is the first of many steps toward the construction of a new building on the property.

McGuire said she does not have an exact time frame right now, but predicts it will be a minimum of 18 months before construction could begin.

Lavelle said she has a lot of ideas for the future of the property, but since it’s privately owned, the town will have to wait and see what happens. She said she hopes CVS will consider the input of the Carrboro community, as they begin planning what to do with the property.

Regardless of what happens to the property, Seils summed up the feelings of many Carrboro residents.

“I’m just glad to see that eyesore gone,” he said.

@maddyarrowood

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