Colfax, Havana corridor of Aurora set to lose Walgreens

A store Aurora neighbors near Colfax and Havana in had been fearing would close announced its final day. Walgreens at 10501 East Colfax will shut its doors in November. A neighborhood Walmart at the same intersection also closed this Summer. Many customers say they’re disappointed, but far from surprised.
In June, CBS Colorado spoke to Walgreens customers worried the location was closing. Store hours had been reduced and many shelves were empty. 
Officials with Walgreens told CBS New Colorado they were not closing the location and that they were “aware of the issues and are working to maintain product availability for customers at this location.”
At the time, a store employee told CBS News Colorado that the shelves weren’t being restocked due to theft.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson from Walgreens said the closure at Colfax and Havana is due to “increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures” that are “weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs.”
Walgreens announced this week the company plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years.
However, some neighbors and business owners along Colfax suspect this store is closing due to area crime.
APD says the area’s been a problem spot for years. Issues near Colfax and Havana include theft, drug sales, prostitution, trespassing, aggressive panhandling, public inebriation, and an increase in violent crime.
“They already took the Walmart!” said one neighbor Dominique, “If they take the Walgreens, what else is going to be left?!”
In July, Aurora Police developed a plan to increase safety and clean up the intersection at Colfax and Havana.
A month later, APD told CBS Colorado the new safety initiative was seeing early progress and some challenges, like crime being displaced to nearby blocks.
Neighbors like Eric McWilliams says the closure of Walmart and now Walgreens hurts the community’s health. “They’re just making it hard for us now. I have to go out further for our medicines,” he explained. So will his neighbors, which include a disabled and elderly community next door.
Walgreens says prescriptions are being transferred to a Denver location – about 15 minutes away.
In a Facebook post Monday, the area’s senator, Rhonda Fields, writes, “My community needs a pharmacy, the @Walgreens closure creates a pharmacy Desert. Neighborhood pharmacists serve as the first defense against illness, can save greater strain on the larger health system. With this retail location closing, that line of defense is lost. What is @AuroraGov’s strategy to address the issues arising from major retail closures on the East Colfax Corridor?”
In August, Mayor Mike Coffman told CBS Colorado local store owners told him crime has gotten worse. He’s been meeting with them to monitor progress. For real change, Coffman says the corridor must be redeveloped.
In a statement Walgreens says, “It is never an easy decision to close a store. We know that our stores are important to the communities that we serve, and therefore do everything possible to improve the store performance. When closures are necessary, like this one in Aurora, we will work in partnership with community stakeholders to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members from those stores that we close.”
The Walgreens at 10501 E Colfax Ave will close Wednesday, Nov. 13. Impacted prescriptions will be automatically transferred to the Walgreens at 7311 E 29th St. in Denver.