Local officials don’t want Rite Aid buildings to stay vacant very long

Five Mon Valley locations have been affected as the company goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

As Rite Aid Corporation works its way through a second bankruptcy filing in less than five years, the fallout is visible in communities across the Mon Valley.

Five Rite Aid locations in the area have shut their doors or are preparing to — part of a sweeping plan that’s seen more than 70 stores closed or set to close throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Each shuttered store adds to the growing patchwork of vacant buildings left behind by the company’s restructuring effort.

While customers’ pharmacy files have largely been transferred — mostly to Giant Eagle locations — what’s left behind are prime commercial properties now sitting empty. Local leaders are scrambling to find new uses for them before blight takes hold.

Corporate collapse

The stores in Monongahela, Elizabeth Borough, Rostraver Township, Charleroi and Monessen were all operated by Rite Aid of Pennsylvania LLC, a regional subsidiary of Rite Aid Corporation that manages stores and assets within the state.

These closures come as the Philadelphia-based corporation attempts to shed debt and restructure its business after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again earlier this year.

In Monessen, the Rite Aid at 10 Donner Ave. ceased pharmacy operations Aug. 3. According to Mayor Ron Mozer, the site has already drawn attention.

“I think ours was the last door to close in the country,” Mozer said. “They are going through their final closing now. … There’s a strong desire to do some- thing with that building.”

Mozer said ideas floated by interested parties include a Dollar General, a theater or fueling stations.

“We don’t need another building that turns into more blight we have to tear down in 10 years,” he said.

In Charleroi, the location at 101 5th St. officially transferred pharmacy services to Giant Eagle on June 5.

Borough Manager Joe Manning said the property, leased through Kamin Realty, is seen as a key site in the downtown business district.

“We are hoping to find a grocery store or some type of similar enterprise that would really benefit our residents,” Manning said.

He has been in talks with Mon Valley Alliance and Food 21, reaching out to chains such as Aldi, which already has lease agreements with Kamin.

The area currently lacks a centrally located grocery option.

“It’s not just for Charleroi — it’s all of these communities around here,” Manning said. “We really feel we could sustain a grocery store and have the demographics to support it.”

Across the street from the former Rite Aid, a condemned structure next to the Market House was recently torn down. Another building at 523 McKean Ave. is slated for demolition.

Manning sees the clean-up as part of a larger push to reinvigorate downtown.

“This property was a grocery store at one time. It’s a perfect location, has built-in parking and is in the heart of our business district,” he said. “There is a lot of potential.”

In Elizabeth Borough, the Rite Aid at 300 Market St. is now listed as vacant, though the exact closure date was not made public.

Borough Manager Scott Craighead said he’s been working with a real estate company handling the property listing.

“I was in touch with the real estate management company who is taking care of the listing and they told me they have a few leads,” Craighead said. “I supplied them with my contacts … they have an agent working on filling that spot.”

Craighead is working with company officials to determine if they want to pay the borough to upkeep the site, or if they plan to do it themselves.

In Rostraver Township, the Rite Aid at 843 Rostraver Road closed its pharmacy on May 7, with prescriptions transferred to the nearby Giant Eagle.

Township officials say they’re pushing to make sure the property doesn’t sit empty for long.

Jeff Johnson, chairman of the Rostraver Commissioners, said the board is actively pursuing replacements.

“We don’t like to see staple businesses leave our business district,” Johnson said. “We are open to supporting any new business that comes in. It is difficult for us to get specific businesses to come unless our area meets their business model.”

Johnson said every acting commissioner has reached out to potential tenants.

“I personally have reached out to Chick-fil-A and Texas Roadhouse, among others, to share available property. I sent the Rite Aid property to Chick-fil-A again,” he said. “Hopefully we get someone in there fast.”

The Monongahela location at 446 W. Main St. shut down on June 4, with pharmacy records sent to Giant Eagle at Fisher Heights.

Officials in Monongahela were not available for comment prior to press time.

Local consequences

Many of the store properties are owned by a patchwork of landlords, including individuals, LLCs and major institutions like Wells Fargo.

Several Mon Valley locations — including those in Monessen, Monongahela, Elizabeth Borough and Belle Vernon — were operated under Rite Aid of Pennsylvania, LLC, a regional subsidiary that held leases or direct ownership of some properties.

In Charleroi’s case, while Rite Aid leased the site, the lease is corporately guaranteed with built-in extension options — a possible selling point for new tenants.

Some former Rite Aid sites have already been repurposed.

In New Kensington, the shuttered store is now a Phantom Fireworks and in Tarentum, a location closed in 2018 was donated to a local church, Abundant Joy Fellowship.

As more doors close, fear that the buildings could sit idle for years without intervention is something local communities plan to avoid.

The hope among officials is that these empty stores can be reimagined not just as retail space, but as anchors for neighborhood revitalization.

“We’re trying very hard to revitalize this area down here,” Manning said. “We don’t want this to be another vacant building in the heart of our business district.”