After a couple years of back and forth meetings with the neighborhood, Rite Aid may finally be close to sealing an expansion deal at the corner of Ontario and Tonawanda streets. Though the original plans have been tweaked to accommodate suggestions from the neighborhood, chances are that the retro Riverside Men's Shop (RMS) building (and neighboring structures) would come down. It appears that the neighborhood (for the most part) is happy to see the Rite Aid expansion, as the current store is outdated. The way the new 14,000 sq.' pharmacy would be situated (behind RMS on Tonawanda Street) would allow the corner building to remain standing... if the building was found to be in sound enough shape, and if the neighborhood rallied around it. But initial reports are that the building is in need of too much work...
The Rite Aid expansion will see a total of 58 parking spaces, which leaves some people wondering if the RMS could not be turned into an alternate use (like a restaurant) to help fill some spaces. This is a big walking neighborhood, and chances are that a lot of that size would be underutilized. Not all of the buildings on that corner are coming down - there is one holdout business that has refused to sell. That business is Schmit (plumbing, heating and air conditioning) - established in 1968. So the question will most likely be, will the neighborhood see a small park on the corner, or will the Riverside Men's Shop building stay and act as a buffer for parking and a Rite Aid?
Photo: the red brick structure would come down, and to the right of that is Schmit.