Rite Aid to Close Location at Main and Broad in Lansdale Next Month

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

The intersection of Main and Broad streets in Lansdale will soon have a different look, as Rite Aid will be permanently closing its doors in less than two weeks.

Following a request for comment from North Penn Now sent Tuesday morning, a spokesperson from the corporate office confirmed that the location at 10 West Main Street will permanently close on Sept. 10.

No official announcement has been made at the time of publishing; however, the spokesperson provided the following statement after confirming the closure:

"Like all retail businesses, we regularly review each of our locations to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers, communities, and overall business. A decision to close a store is one we take very seriously and is based on a variety of factors including business strategy, lease and rent considerations, local business conditions and viability, and store performance. We review every neighborhood to ensure our customers will have access to health services, be it at Rite Aid or a nearby pharmacy, and we work to seamlessly transfer their prescriptions so there is no disruption of services.”

It's currently unclear if the staff at the store will be laid off or moved to another location. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to follow up questions regarding the fate of their employees, beyond stating they "strive to transfer associates to other Rite Aid locations where possible.”

According to a report by Josh Schafer and Anjalee Khemlani at Yahoo! Finance, Rite Aid stocks fell more than 50% on Friday after it was revealed the chain was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in response to mounting costs related to opioid lawsuits. The report adds that the corporation was planning to shutter more than 400 locations across 17 states, though when contacted for comment by Yahoo! Finance, a spokesperson said, "We do not comment on rumors and speculation.”

The Lansdale location sat on the former location of the Hotel Tremont, which stood for more than 100 years at the intersection of Main and Broad streets before being torn down in 1997. Though many area residents fondly remember the beauty and glory days of the Hotel Tremont, it had fallen into a state of severe neglect and disrepair prior to being torn down.

Despite the convenience of the location, the decision to build the Rite Aid at Main and Broad proved to be somewhat controversial — not only due to nostalgia for the Hotel Tremont, but due to a building design that would see the rear of the building facing the intersection, fully adorned with non-functioning glass windows facing outwards.

It’s unclear what will replace Rite Aid following next month’s closure.

Montgomery County property records show the 38,000-square-foot building is owned by HLC Lansdale LLC under the care of the Rite Aid Corporation with an assessed value of $1,972,000. A records search through the Pennsylvania Department of State indicates HLC Lansdale LLC is a foreign Limited Liability Company formed in Delaware and with a business address in Pittsburgh. HLC Lansdale did not immediately respond to North Penn Now’s request for comment.

Ownership of the building transferred from Tower Partners LP to HLC Lansdale in October 2014 at a cost of $4,063,297, according to property records.