GOODBYE TO BINGO
Bath K of C for demo'ed for Walgreens
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

PHOTO BY ROB PRICE Pictured above, a construction crew levels the Bath Knights of Columbus building to clear the lot for a new Walgreens pharmacy.

BATH - A Syracuse development company last week began demolition of the former Knights of Columbus building on West Washington Avenue to make way for a 12,000-squarefoot Walgreens pharmacy.

Site plans submitted to the Bath village codes office by Westlake Development LLC indicate the store will include drive-through windows, with main access to the parking lot coming from West Washington Avenue. Deliveries to the store will come via a minor accessway along West Morris Street.

Sidewalks along both streets will be reconstructed, according to the plans.

Richard Pruner, Deputy Grand Knight for the Bath Knights of Columbus, said the organization finalized the sale of the building the previous week and has moved its offices to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bath.

Pruner added the K of C has been forced to suspend its weekly Bingo games due to lack of space.

The Knights of Columbus building was constructed in the previous century to house a grocery called The Market Basket Food Store, according to the volume "The Heritage of Bath, NY; 1793-1993." It also was home to an Acme grocery and a discount store before the Knights of Columbus assumed ownership.

Walgreens operates nearly 6,000 stores in 48 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It recently opened a new store in Canandaigua and currently is opening new stores in Corning, Geneva and Penn Yan.

The company confirmed it has signed a lease for the new pharmacy and expects to open in the spring of 2008.