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CVS plans to open first Colorado standalone pharmacies

Rhode Island-based chain will enter Denver market in 2017, CVS spokeswoman confirmed

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 13 : Denver Post's Emilie Rusch on Monday, January 13, 2014.  (Photo By Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post)
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After entering the Colorado market earlier this year with its takeover of Target’s in-store pharmacies, CVS Health has even bigger plans for 2017.

The first standalone CVS Pharmacy location in the state will open next year in Denver, Stephanie Cunha, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island-based chain, said in an e-mail.

No other details were available, but CVS already has approved site development plans on file for a 1.1-acre piece of property it owns at West 38th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood.

That property, the former Tommy’s Slalom Shop at 3740 Sheridan Blvd., was acquired in June by CVS for just shy of $4 million, according to city records. The seller was an entity managed by CorePower Yoga founder Trevor Tice.

Construction fences recently went up around the property, although a city spokeswoman said that as of Monday, a demolition permit had not been issued for the existing structure. Plans call for a new 14,700-square-foot building and 65 on-site parking spaces.

CVS also owns a trio of office buildings at East Hampden Avenue and South Tamarac Drive in south Denver that were purchased in late 2015 for $6.28 million, according to city records.

The first CVS Pharmacy locations inside Target stores in Colorado opened earlier this year. CVS Health acquired all Target pharmacies and retail clinics in December 2015, including 39 in Colorado. Nationwide, CVS has more than 9,600 locations.

Walgreens, CVS’s main rival, is already an established presence in Colorado, with 159 locations as of August. Walgreens’ $9.4 billion merger with Rite Aid is expected to close early next year. Rite Aid also has retail locations in Colorado, including 11 in metro Denver and two in Boulder.

Updated Nov. 30 at 8:40 a.m.: Due to inaccurate information from a source, this story has been updated to reflect the correct location of the standalone CVS Pharmacy opening in Colorado in 2017.