CVS Announces It Will Rebuild Burned Stores
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- New signs of hope in West Baltimore. CVS--the neighborhood anchor store that was looted and burned by vandals--announces it will rebuild.
Christie Ileto with the broad efforts to help the hardest hit communities.
These are the scars of last Monday's riots. CVS now confirms it will rebuild two of its pharmacies targeted by looters, calling it "the right thing to do."
"As we watched the events unfold in Baltimore over the past week or so, our hearts turned from pain to the promise of what is ahead," said CVS Health President and CEO Larry Merlo. "Our purpose as a company is helping people on their path to better health. There is no better way that we can fulfill that purpose than to reopen our doors and get back to serving the community."
Merlo added, "We have a long history of serving inner city communities and we are 100 percent committed to serving our patients and customers in Baltimore. We can't tell you today exactly when we will reopen, but we are working diligently to make it as soon as possible for the people of Baltimore. Already our colleagues have been stepping up to welcome customers to our other locations and I am very proud of all they have done to stand tall and continue to serve."
Sonyette Armstrong lives at Penn and North avenues.
Ileto: "Where are you getting your necessities from?"
Armstrong: "I have to go to the Dollar General. It's a little ways from here."
Many residents walk blocks out of the way, having once relied on the pharmacy's central location.
"This is convenient to the subway. You can just jump off the subway and get to CVS and jump back on," said Virginia Jackson.
Seven of the 14 local stores looted remain closed following violence sparked by Freddie Gray's April death.
"We've had over 125 calls to 311," said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.
"This is literally a matter of life and death. So the fact that pharmacies are opening is wonderful because it means we now can get people access to medications that we need," she continued.
As Baltimore rebuilds, area churches fill the void.
"Some of the stores are still closed where the people go to, especially the CVS, so we want to make sure we have those things here for them," said Kisha Riley, New Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Prince is even planning a surprise "Rally 4 Peace" concert over the weekend. A portion of those proceeds will go to city youth charities.
"You need something positive to bring people's minds back," one man said.
Still, it's the promise of a new beginning that's breathing life into a riot torn city.
The two CVS locations that will be rebuilt are on Pennsylvania Avenue and West Franklin Street.