It sparked controversy in Brighton when it was built and some neighbors said it didn't fit the town's development plans. Now a Rite Aid pharmacy at Twelve Corners has closed but why did it shut down after the developer fought so hard to build it?

Tens of thousands of cars go by this intersection each day. That was part of the attraction for Rite Aid when it wanted to build here at Twelve Corners in Brighton. It was controversial - many neighbors didn't want it and now it’s closed.

The store was built with a promise to re-vitalize the Twelve Corners area of Brighton and it took nearly two years to get town approval. Neighbors fumed at town board meetings arguing another pharmacy wasn't what the busy intersection needed.
 
In the end, they tore down the once-popular Princess Restaurant to make room for the pharmacy. But now, roughly eight years later, the Rite Aid that created so much debate and some hard feelings is closed.

A sign in the door tells customers their prescriptions can be filled at the Pittsford Plaza location and the town, which supported Rite Aid's plans to build here, wasn't even told.

Brighton Town Supervisor Sandra Frankel: “I was surprised that Rite Aid didn't contact me to let the town know that this was their plan. We saw a sign in the window."  

Thelma Jo Atwel of Brighton never wanted the Rite Aid built to begin with. "I wish that the Princess Restaurant was still here because it was a nice place to come for lunch."

I-Team 10 contacted Rite Aid and a spokesperson says the closing of this location was actually related to the company's acquisition of Eckerd’s last year. Because this pharmacy was in close proximity to other Rite Aid locations, the corporate decision-makers determined it made smart business sense to consolidate.

But at the same time, Rite Aid is building a new pharmacy less than two miles away on Monroe Avenue to replace an older one across the street. Frankel said, “Rite Aid was doing okay but it wasn't doing as well as the CVS store right down the road."

Perhaps neighbors were right all those years ago, and the Twelve Corners location just wasn't a good fit or maybe they just never embraced it. Whatever the case, Frankel says they are now looking to the future and believes the building won't be vacant long. “It's in a place that gets thousands and thousands of cars going by every day. So it really would be a great place for retail."

So what would Atwel like to see here? "I just don't know. Not another drugstore." And that probably isn't likely to happen. According to Frankel, Rite Aid is still paying on the lease for this property and it's not likely they would sub-let it to a competitor.