CVS Pharmacy has purchased the property that houses Gay's True Value in Tunkhannock.
Owner Doug Gay said Thursday the store that has served Wyoming County for nearly a century will relocate. He said he has about 2½ months to be out of the building that his family has embraced for nearly 90 years.
"We'd like to be fully moved by June 1," Mr. Gay said in reference to relocating to another building along East Tioga Street he also recently purchased.
The sale from Mr. Gay and his wife, Wilma, to CVS Pharmacy LLC, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, R.I., for $1.9 million was recorded March 15 in the Wyoming County recorder of deeds office. Another deed of transfer to the Gays from Raymond and Joanne Bach was recorded March 23 for $950,000, for a former automotive store that is adjacent to Brick's parking lot.
Mr. Gay said that he and his sons would be running the new store, and he hoped his brother, Dave, would continue to chip in.
There are around 25 full- and part-time employees on the Gay's True Value payroll, and he said he expected most would be going to the new location.
"Hopefully, they'll all stay," Mr. Gay said.
Sale of the Gays' store had been in the works for more than 15 months, but the Zaremba group, which had represented CVS in its plan to put a drive-through pharmacy where Gay's store was, ran into delays as local developer Anthony Colombo issued substantial challenges during planning commission and zoning hearing board meetings.
Sean McDermott, development manager for the Zaremba Group of Lakewood, Ohio, said Tuesday morning that his company already had a trailer on site and was doing some preliminary work.
He said the Zaremba group had all the necessary permits in hand to move forward and the company's hope is to be open by the end of 2013.
Mr. Gay said his current location was showing the ravages of time, along with sporadic beatings by the Susquehanna River, as in 2011 when it crested at record levels.
"I won't miss the water," he said.
Contact the writer: bbaker@wcexaminer.com