Demolition of armory in B.G. clears way for store
CVS pharmacy will be built on 1.5-acre site
5/17/2013
Crews continue their demolition of the old armory and surrounding buildings near downtown Bowling Green. The armory was built in 1910, and some of the first Bowling Green State Normal College students took classes there.
BOWLING GREEN — From its construction more than a century ago to its demolition, the armory on East Wooster Street served a scholastic purpose.
Some of the first students of the then-named Bowling Green State Normal College took classes at the Ohio National Guard Armory, built in 1910.
Last week, firefighters participating in the Bowling Green State University State Fire School used the vacant building to practice skills such as forcing their way through barred windows.
The property now will transform from armory to pharmacy.
A CVS pharmacy will be built on the site of the former armory, the former Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home, adjacent to the former armory, and two houses. Demolition work at the site, on the corner of East Wooster and South Prospect streets in Bowling Green, has been under way this week.
The 13,225-square-foot drug store is slated to open Nov. 17, with construction beginning as soon as demolition wraps up, said Mary Ann Wervey, director of retail development for the Cleveland-based retail developers Zaremba Group.
The project, which required rezoning, is located on just under 1.5 acres, said Bowling Green Planning Director Heather Sayler. The store will feature drive-through window service and a parking lot with 68 spaces, she said. CVS purchased the properties in April from MWH Co. LTD for $1.89 million, according to Wood County auditor records.
The brick armory building once played host to teen dances and the first classes for the university, said Dana Nemeth, director of the Wood County Historical Center and Museum.
Much more recently, the state fire school took advantage of demolition plans by bringing firefighters to practice training exercises and learn search and rescue skills in the armory and other buildings on the site, according to Kerry Gonzalez, the school’s assistant director.
Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065.