CurbedWire: One Castro, Two Walgreens

THE CASTRO—This just in on the CurbedWire: A nabe tipster dishes the deets on the 18th Street Walgreens— or rather, the soon-to-be second Walgreens location. On one corner. In a scheme set for imminent approval by the planning department, the megapharmacy plans to build a special facility for private pharmaceutical consultations by an as-yet-unnamed nonprofit. The second location, essentially across the street from the existing one, won't carry the standard Walgreens fare (votive candles, Slim Jims, the wall o' lube ...). Says our informant: "I can't help but feel like this is Walgreens overkill in such an iconic neighborhood. Isn't there a better way to provide private pharmaceutical consultations? ...The company doesn't seem particularly open to any design changes that might make it look like not-a-Walgreens, or even be more street friendly (transparent windows, etc). And so far I haven't heard them commit to signing a promise that this won't be a Trojan horse to create a second standard Walgreens." Red flag: raised. [CurbedWire]