Rite Aid Corp., a Camp Hill, Pa.-based drug-store chain, appears to be preparing to open its 14th store here near the northwest corner of Division Street and Francis Avenue on Spokanes North Side.


County building records indicate that developers want to demolish four buildings facing Division and erect two new structures, a 12,000-square-foot, multi-tenant retail building and a 14,000-square-foot Rite Aid store.


Local developers have applied to the county for a permit to build the retail building, which would be located on the corner of Division and Houston Avenue one block north of the Division-Francis intersection.


The proposed structure would be named the Baker Retail Building, bearing the name of Robert Baker, part owner of BNB Properties, the company that owns the property.


County records put the value of the planned building at about $620,000.


The county hasnt received a permit application for the freestanding Rite Aid store yet, but Baker submitted State Environmental Protection Act documents for both the Baker Retail Building and the Rite Aid, which would be located south of the retail building.


Rite Aid spokesman Craig Berman says he doesnt know the status of that project.


Preliminary plans submitted to the county indicate that the Rite Aid building would have about 14,500 square feet of floor space. There is no estimated project value on record yet, but the county appraised a slightly bigger Rite Aid store that opened last August in the Spokane Valley at about $590,000.


The preliminary plans also indicate that the Baker Retail Building will house three tenants: a restaurant, camera store, and paint store. The plan is consistent with a scenario outlined earlier by Jason Lupcho, part owner of Moons Mongolian Grill Inc., who said a new building would be built to house his restaurant, Parker Paint Manufacturing Co., and a Foto Factory outlet, the three businesses that currently occupy the land.


A fourth building, which once housed Country Cousin Barbecue & Catering Co., is vacant. Country Cousin moved to another location in east Spokane last summer.


Rite Aid, which currently operates 13 stores here, gained a foothold in the Spokane market after acquiring the PayLess drug-store chain.