Customers of the soon-to-be closed Peoria Heights CVS are disappointed to see their pharmacy close while village officials are pondering what will come next for the location when it's no longer generating sales tax revenue.
The CVS, located at 4521 N. Prospect Road in Peoria Heights, announced it will be closing on July 30. The pharmacy in the village's business district will now become one of 900 CVS stores to close since 2021.
CVS customer Tom Kroll, who has has been using the Peoria Heights CVS for about 10 years, said he is "disappointed" the store is closing because "it's always been very convenient."
Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS, told the Journal Star in June that the company's decision to close the store was a "difficult" one. She said it was the only Peoria-area store the company plans to shutter in 2024.
Peoria Heights Mayor Mike Phelan said part of the village's sales pitch about downtown is that "all the amenities are there," including a pharmacy and grocery store. He said the closure will make an impact, particularly to village sales tax revenue.
"The sales tax — since we got into the fire business — sales tax is more important than anything," Phelan said. "It's a key property in the downtown area, so it's concerning." Last year, the Heights increased its fire department budget to hire more full-time staffers.
Phelan and village community development director Wayne Aldrich both said they hope something that generates sales tax will replace the CVS — and it does not necessarily have to be another pharmacy.
"It's unfortunate to lose a drugstore like that because that's something you always want in a redevelopment is something like that, but I know it's a business decision on their part," Aldrich said.
Aldrich said there is not much the village can do about the decision to close the store, but said the village hopes to get into contact with the site's realtor if CVS chooses to sell the building so they can work with them on finding something for the spot that fits the village vision for downtown.
"Anything generating sales tax we like — I like drugstores, things like that that you really want to have somewhere close," Aldrich said. "There's a Walgreens down the street — so it's not absolutely critical — but it's something that is kind of in the heart of the entertainment area there in Peoria Heights, so I think something entertainment related, retail type of thing. It's a great building, got ample parking, so I think there could be various types of uses for that space."
Phelan said the closure of Peoria Heights' CVS fits a nationwide pattern that is not unique to the village, citing the national closures of both CVS and Walgreens stores.
"We're seeing that where a lot of businesses since COVID, the bricks and mortar, retail and business is changing drastically," Phelan said. "People with big buildings and big parking lots are reevaluating their business model."
To combat this trend, Phelan said Peoria Heights has lowered its property tax three times in the last three years to encourage brick and mortar stores in the village.
"It is concerning, but we are fortunate to have, in my opinion, a pretty small, diversified economy made up of even smaller businesses than CVS — but having CVS, O'Reilly's, McDonald's and now Beck's is really important," Phelan said. "While they may only be a small number of the local business community, they generate a lot of sales tax. It's something we need to take seriously."
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