Walgreens store closing soon in South Shore, community holds meeting on new business options

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Walgreens is getting ready to close on Chicago's South Side.

A packed community meeting Wednesday saw residents of South Shore expressing the concern of the neighborhood becoming a pharmacy desert. The Walgreens location will shut its doors on February 27, but community leaders are rushing into action to fill that void.

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The South Shore Chamber of Commerce hosted a public meeting Wednesday evening at the Bryn Mawr Community Church to talk about the future of the space at 7109 South Jeffery Boulevard.

The South Shore community is demanding answers as another retailer is leaving the community.

Last month, Walgreens announced it will close five locations by the end of February, including the location at 71st and Jeffrey.

READ MORE | 5 Walgreens stores closing on Chicago's South, West sides: 'We need it in our communities'

"I get it, from the retailers perspective, but at the same time, once again, we're a community that is suffering," South Shore resident Tonya Morgan said.

Walgreens said this is part of a bigger plan to close 1,200 stores nationwide over the next three years. The closures locally are a part of that.

Walgreens shared the following statement with ABC7:

"Our retail pharmacy business is central to our go-forward business strategy. However, increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs. It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance. When closures are necessary, like those here in Chicago, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members from these stores."

"I was shocked but not surprised," 5th Ward Ald. Desmon Yancy said. "I was shocked that after immediately closing 79th, they'd have audacity to come back two months later and were closing this store too."

Another hurdle that comes with the closure is the fact that Walgreens has a lease at 71st and Jeffrey through 2031, giving them full control over what will fill the vacant space.

"I don't want to see another boarded up, dark building sitting in this community for five years," Morgan said.

Residents said they're used to seeing vacant spaces filled with stores that don't actually service the community.

Wednesday's meeting also gave people the opportunity to voice their opinion of what they want to see at the location.

"I would like to see the 71st Street corridor look like the 53rd Street corridor in Hyde Park," South Shore resident Claude Gibson said. "Eateries, restaurants, shops... mom and pops... chain stores are fine as well."

Walgreens said it plans to work with community leaders to figure out the next steps, and they also plan to move employees to other locations.

There will be 118 Walgreens pharmacy and/or retail locations in Chicago after the latest closures, the company said.