3 Levels of Fun
June 5, 2010
For a couple of years I have been complaining about the blighted lot that sits immediately to the south of Planet Hollywood. This parcel of land, almost dead-center strip, has always struck me as the most underutilized piece of real estate in the entire city.
The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon
The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon
The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon
The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon
Today, however, I am happy to announce that this is all about to change.
This week, the owners of the land annnounced that they are going to build something new and amazing on this particular corner.
What, exactly, are they going to build?
Well, hold on to your hats, because this is going to be the most exciting news you’ve heard in the past sixty, or possibly seventy seconds.
Coming soon to the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon will be ….
Drumroll please …
Wait for it …
Wait a little more for dramatic effect …
Can you feel the excitement …
Here comes the big announcement ….
A Walgreens.
Oh Hallelujah! It’s like a dream come tr…
Wait, what?
Really?
Yes, it is true. In the near future, Las Vegas Boulevard will get a new Walgreens.
Now, lest you think this will be just any Walgreens, please allow me to virtually slap you with my pecker until you repent your blasphemous ways. This is Las F’ing Vegas, biznitch, and we don’t build lame single-story drugstores on the fabulous Vegas Strip. (*not counting the half dozen single-story drugstores that already exist on the fabulous Vegas Strip)
No, this is not going to be your grandmother’s Walgreens, this is going to be a 3 story Walgreens!
Are you feeling it now?
Okay, in all fairness, it’s not just going to be a Walgreens … it is going to be a “100,000 square foot retail center anchored by a 3-story Walgreens”. Whatever that means.
According to a Walgreens spokesman:
“If a customer in another state is visiting, we want to make it convenient for them to fill their prescriptions at a pharmacy that knows their history, in addition to picking up the essentials, whether it be sunscreen or a bottle of water.”
Well, okay, this seems reasonable enough, but have you ever tried walking from the MGM Grand or the Aria pool to … anywhere?
Let’s face it, if you need sunscreen or a bottle of water, you’re looking at a 10 minute, quarter-mile walk just to get out of the damn hotel. This store will only be “convenient” if you happen to be walking by it when you realize you need something.
Add this to the fact that there are already existing stores that serve the exact same purpose, and I can’t help but be a little skeptical. For those of you who haven’t been to the Las Vegas Strip in the last ten or twenty years, a Walgreens currently exists a stone’s throw away next to Gameworks, and there is a CVS across the street from that. This will be the third store within a two block radius.
Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that they are building something on this property. In my opinion, this “retail thing” will actually solve a large problem. Filled with porn slappers, trash, and scam purveyors, the northeast corner of LVB/Harmon has become arguably one of the biggest safety hazards and eyesores on the tourist strip. It’s been an outright embarrassment for quite some time, and something … anything … is better than what currently sits there.
That being noted, I was kind of hoping that this prime real estate would be used to build something a little more … “Vegas-y”. A independent casino, a park, a tower, or some kind of ride or attraction would have been at the top of my wish list. I never pegged it to be the ideal location for a tri-level Walgreens.
Oh well, for those of you who have been putting off a trip to Vegas because it was just too damn inconvenient to purchase a 100 count bottle of generic ibuprofen (and really, haven’t we all been avoiding Las Vegas for this reason?) … you may want to get your travel agent on the phone because your prayers have just been answered.
Vegas Baby!
Written by AeroSKI5150 on June 5, 2010 at 7:08 pm
…..Not to mention the Walgreens just up the street in the Palazzo/Venetian LVB street level shops….. and isn’t there a CVS inside Fashion Square Mall? Geez…
Very underwhelming, I have to agree…
Written by Rummy on June 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm
You should see the plans they have for their neon sign. Going to be a major suck for those in PH facing it.
Written by keith on June 5, 2010 at 7:51 pm
oh hot-diggity-dog…a drugstore!
um, wait – what?
here’s hoping maybe one of the levels will allow non-pharmacy dealers to come in and push their wares, flea market style. don’t like what one dealer is asking for a dimebag? walk around the corner to another dealer! he’ll even throw in some E for real cheap too.
one can only hope, especially once Rex gets elected mayor.
Written by Patrick on June 5, 2010 at 9:36 pm
I will say this about walgreens on the strip…having a walk-in clinic with a ARNP can be a lifesaver…I came down with the (bird?) flu at the 72hr mark of a 5day trip last September…those last two days would have been 10x more miserable without the tamiflu script that I got from the Walgreens in the Palazzo.
Need an EVO review from Rex before I take the plunge…esp your feelings on the camera and battery life
Written by FleaStiff on June 6, 2010 at 12:48 am
Its gonna run a delivery service to nearby hotel room guest who don’t want to pay 8.00 for a toothbrush.
And limmos will stop there to let passengers stock up on snacks before having to pay room service prices.
Written by BigRedDogATL on June 6, 2010 at 12:56 am
Why was I under the impression that the corner piece of land was actually owned by Clark County. Did they decide to finally sell it off after the Harmon road realignment was complete?
Written by Rummy on June 6, 2010 at 5:19 am
@BigRedDogATL
Yes. It was County land and is/has been sold off after the road work through. No idea why they waited so long.
Written by Ron form MI on June 7, 2010 at 5:04 am
A Walgreen’s at Silver City Plaza, a Walgreen’s at the “Sands.” and now a Walgreen’s on the corner of Harmon and the Strip.
They’re getting just a bad as McDonald’s.
Reminds me of an old George Carlin Hippie-Dippy Weatherman joke:
“Well today, there will be low pressure in the Midwest, and low pressure in Texas. By tomorrow, lows will be in around New York and the New England states, with two low pressure systems in Washington and Oregon Northern tier states, and the next day Florida will have a low over the entire state, and by the end of the week, all of the continental 48 states will be covered with lows…”
Written by James on June 8, 2010 at 6:32 am
Awesome, three stories. So if I go to Vegas and realize I forgot deodorant, it will take me an hour to find it.
Written by yoyoseven on June 8, 2010 at 11:05 pm
What next, a fucking Walmart on the Echelon site?
SprawlGreens – just what the strip needs.