CVS trying for Valley presence — again

McALLEN — Last year, plans were revealed for a CVS pharmacy at the Trenton Crossroads Plaza development in Edinburg.

The incomplete Alamo Drafthouse movie theater remains - but there are no signs of a pharmacy.

Earlier this year, Elsa leaders announced a CVS would open on Highway 107.

Today, the land where the store would have been is a de facto parking lot for tractor-trailers.

Now, the country's largest pharmacy chain is making a third stab at establishing a presence in the Rio Grande Valley.

Last month, the chain acquired a plot of land at the corner of North 23rd Street and Dove Avenue in McAllen.

Bulldozers are stationed at the site and a sign there proclaims the pharmacy is "Coming Soon."

CVS operates more than 6,300 locations across the country, including 484 stores in Texas, according to its Web site, but it does not have any in the Valley. Its closest locations are in Kingsville, Alice, Robstown and Corpus Christi.

Keith Patridge, who heads the McAllen Economic Development Corp., said CVS had been considering McAllen for months.

"I have been surprised they haven't been here already," Patridge said.

Meanwhile, the status of the other CVS projects remains unclear.

Former Elsa City Manager Paul Vazaldua, now a consultant to the city, said Elsa leaders approved revised construction plans for the store a few months ago but haven't heard much from the company since then.

"They basically said, ‘Don't call us, we'll call you,'" Vazaldua said, adding that a pharmacy is a much-needed service for the Delta area.

Mike DeAngelis, CVS director of public relations, did not return messages left Thursday regarding the McAllen store.

CVS and its main competitor, Walgreens, go head-to-head in many markets and in many cases set up stores directly across the street from each other.

Walgreens has 10 stores in the Greater McAllen area, according to its Web site, and has operated in the Valley since at least 1993.

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Ryan Holeywell covers McAllen, PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.