Wasson said the reductions could save Illinois-based company $1 billion.
What that meant for the La Crescenta site, where mounds of dirt sat for months after construction was repeatedly pushed back, was uncertain.
But a Walgreens representative and the project’s administrator each said this week that the store will open, as planned, later this year.
“We are moving forward with plans,” Walgreens spokeswoman Vivika Vergara said. “Site work is underway, and we plan to open in the fall.”
Construction crews with Rich Development Co., the San Pedro-based firm overseeing the site’s production, started shoring dirt and gathering supplies on the 37,018-square-foot rectangular lot Sept. 30. Since then, bulldozers and wooden beams have made regular appearances on the property.
When completed, the La Crescenta Walgreens will be one of 6,630 Walgreens drugstores throughout the country, and one of 515 in California, Vergara said.
Despite the pronouncements some remain skeptical. Steve Pierce, president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, said he will believe Walgreens will make good on their plans when the building is erected.
“I want to see Walgreens go up first,” he said. “I’m not putting any faith in what people are saying right now. I’m just a little leery with what’s going to happen there from the long delay.”
Rich Development approached the Crescenta Valley Town Council in 2002 with plans to build the store at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Ramsdell Avenue.
The Town Council signed off on the plans in 2003 and in 2005, but was left in the dark by development officials who were forced to push back the operation.
Construction finally began last year after paperwork was filed and Rich Development was given the green light, officials said.
