An aerial view of the intersection of Westfield and Brant avenues in Clark, where a CVS pharmacy is to be erected.
CLARK, NJ — A 13,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy with 56 parking spaces will be going up at the intersection of Westfield and Brant avenues following the local Planning Board’s unanimous approval at a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 18.
With the opening of the new CVS, the existing CVS at 60 Westfield Ave., about a half mile away, will close, board member Michael Bonaccorso told LocalSource in a Jan. 19 phone interview.
“The current store will be closed upon when the new store is ready to open and all prescription records will seamlessly be transferred to the new location,” CVS public relations representative Stephanie Cunha told LocalSource in a Jan. 23 email.
While the current location is 3,600 square-feet with a limited number of parking spaces, the new store will be 13,000 square-feet, allowing CVS to expand its health and beauty products section, Cunha said.
According to Cunha, the new location, slated to open during the second half of 2020, “will also feature a convenient pharmacy drive-through, plenty of parking and expanded operational hours.”
The new CVS will be “a larger investment into the community with more user friendly parking. It will be more efficient,” Bonaccorso said, adding that it will also aesthetically blend in with the neighborhood.
The new pharmacy will be constructed on four lots at 231-247 Westfield Ave, northwest of Brant Avenue on the south side of Westfield Avenue. The site was formerly home to Jack’s Tavern, the Just Plain Dave’s restaurant and a laundromat, and still houses Bernie’s Westbrant Auto Parts and Repair.
Clark Township Administrator John Laezza told LocalSource on Jan. 19 that all the private properties have entered into a partnership and are being sold to CVS. Any existing buildings that remain on the properties will be demolished, Laezza said at the Jan. 18 planning board meeting. Bernie’s Westbrant Auto Parts and Repairs declined to comment for this article.
The new retail facility is to have 14,823 square feet and, while many CVS facilities remain open 24 hours per day, this store and its drive-through will close at 10 p.m.
At the site-plan review on Dec. 7, 2017, feedback from residents and business owners was taken into consideration, according to Bonaccorso.
Several Clark homeowners in close proximity to the site were at that meeting with questions and concerns.
Following the site-plan review with Pennsylvania-based DWW Clark Developers, the planning board unanimously approved the application, making it the 16th CVS within a 5 mile radius.
CVS Health is headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., and has 9,700 locations nationwide.