Rite Aid may relocate one of its Bellingham stores to the Wilson Motors site on the northeast corner of Ellis and E. Champion streets.
A representative for Nicholson Investment Properties, the preferred developer for Rite Aid stores, said his company has a purchase-and-sale agreement with Rick Wilson, owner of Wilson Motors, to buy the approximately 1.7-acre site bounded by Ellis, Champion and N. Forest streets.
Kirkland-based Nicholson would construct a building and lease it to Rite Aid, said company representative Tony Miltenberger. He could not comment on which store was looking to relocate.
Representatives for Nicholson and their architect, Kirkland-based RHL Design Group Inc., met with city officials on Jan. 3 for a pre-application meeting to introduce the preliminary concept.
A letter to the city from RHL Design Group states the proposal is for a Rite Aid pharmacy retail store with a drive- through window. A preliminary site sketch shows plans for a 17,340-square-foot building footprint and 76 parking spaces. Miltenberger said the city had a positive response to the concept.
Miltenberger said Rite Aid would need to approve the site and then the deal with Wilson would close pending permit approval by the city.
“It’s a good intersection with good visibility and a lot of traffic,” he said of the site.
Rick Wilson, owner of Wilson Motors, said he is planning to move his auto dealership to 1100 Iowa St. in June or July. The new building is currently under construction.
Wilson said he could not comment on whether or not he had a purchase-and-sale agreement with Nicholson, adding that he had not advertised the site for sale or solicited any offers because the timing of the move to Iowa Street is still up in the air.
The four Rite Aid locations in Bellingham in include:
- 1400 Cornwall Ave., downtown
- 3227 Northwest Ave.
- 1225 E. Sunset Drive, Sunset Square
- 220 36th Ave., Sehome Village.
