The former Apple Tree Market may finally get a new tenant.
CVS Pharmacy has set its sights on the long-vacant building at 4949 Santa Monica Ave., corporate officials have confirmed.
“We are in the very early stages of planning a store at this location,” Michael DeAngelis, director of public relations, said in an email.
CVS is a well-known commodity in the area, with 26 stores in San Diego, according to their website. The store nearest the proposed location is at 3950 West Point Loma Blvd.
Apple Tree Market closed at the end of last year, ending a 25-year run, when owners of the business lost their lease. The site quickly attained eyesore status as the landscaping and parking lot weeds became overgrown, bringing homeless activity and litter. In May, the city declared the site a public nuisance and slapped the Los Angeles-based owner, Elliot Megdal of Megdal and Associates, with an abatement order.
In June, Megdal opened up the parking lot for self-pay customers, but the building has remained vacant all year.
Steve Laub, president and owner of Land Solutions, Inc., a local project management consulting firm, confirmed he has been hired to oversee the permitting process for CVS. Laub declined to say whether the building would be remodeled or rebuilt from scratch, or provide any other details regarding the project.
Laub was expected to appear before the Project Review Committee of the Ocean Beach Planning Board on Oct. 16 in support of a liquor license application, said Peter Ruscitti, who chairs the committee. However, no application is currently pending, according to an employee at the local office of the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.