After months of shaded windows and widespread curiosity, CVS Pharmacy will move into the former Tower Records space at 2000 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The retailer is in the process of filing building permits and will likely open in late fall 2008, CVS spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said. They plan to begin construction in the late spring or early summer, and will accept GWorld.
University spokesperson Tracy Schario said Monday that the CVS would benefit both the campus and the businesses housed in 2000 Penn.
“I think you have to look at the context of that particular space,” Schario said. “It’s in an office building, and while it’s in a GW-owned building and in a campus environment, it’s a heavy mix of business customers first and students second.”
DeAngelis said that the new location will be similar to other CVS pharmacies in the District.
“You’ll see the typical mix of what we offer: health and beauty products, the pharmacy, general merchandise items,” he said.
There are already four CVS stores in a three-block radius of campus. DeAngelis said they decided to open another Foggy Bottom location because each one caters to a different customer population.
“Every market requires a different radius of how close stores are in proximity to one another and which different customer populations they are serving, so we took a look at this site and it will serve a different customer population than other stores,” he said. “Washington D.C. is an urban market much like Boston or New York City and other city markets where you have stores in closer proximity to one another when there are different travel patterns of customers.”
DeAngelis said the customer population whichthe new CVS will cater to is “a combination of people who work in the area and people who go to school in the area.”
Student Association President-elect Vishal Aswani said he supports CVS moving into the space.
“I do support seeing a CVS there just because as a GWorld vendor – as a partner in the GWorld program – it’s just a significant opportunity for students to use their Colonial Cash there at a resource that is kind of multi-purpose,” Aswani said.
He added that this CVS would be more convenient than other locations in the area because of its proximity to GW’s non-undergraduate population, including law school students and the Marvin Center staff.
“What’s going to be a great thing about having that CVS there, because it’s a GWorld partner, it will help educate the graduate school population on the advantages of using GWorld,” Aswani said.
SA President Nicole Capp previously said that she had asked the administration to consider replacing the venue with a Barnes and Noble bookstore, but was told there would not be enough space. She declined to comment on the final decision.
While students could make suggestions to the SA dining services commission, Schario said there was no formal survey taken of what students wanted in the space.
