Starbucks Corp., of Seattle, has leased a building at 2703 N. Division that formerly housed a Walgreen Co. express pharmacy and plans to open its 12th Spokane-area coffee shop there next month.


The 1,600-square-foot building is at the northwest corner of Buckeye Avenue and Division. It has a drive-up window, which the coffee company will use, and its interior is being remodeled to accommodate seating, says Al Boschma, manager of Starbucks Eastern Washington district.


Starbucks always looks for great real estate for our locations as we strive to make the Starbucks experience as convenient as possible for our customers, he says. The company requires that outlets be located in high-traffic areas and be highly visible to allow our customers to easily locate us, Boschma adds.


The store will have about 15 full- and part-time employees, he says.


Starbucks declines to disclose the cost of the remodeling project or to name the general contractor that is doing the work.


Earlier, two development companies said that Starbucks plans to open two other stores here soon, at 10 W. Second and in a retail strip center along 57th Avenue on Spokanes South Hill. Those sites would be its 13th and 14th here. The company has more than 7,000 stores in the U.S. and abroad.


The Walgreen outlet that had been housed in the Buckeye and Division building moved in August 2002 to 12 E. Empire, where the company developed a full-size store. It had operated at the Buckeye and Division space since 1993.