Thornton's Rite Aid is demolished! New Gas Station, Murphy USA, being built. Here's the progress made so far!

Front corner of Thornton's Rite Aid -Google Maps

A recent visit to Thornton led to an unexpected discovery. Not only had this Rite Aid on the corner of E 104th Ave and Colorado Blvd been demolished, it also was already well into the process of being replaced with a brand new gas station!

A view from the SW corner of the soon-to-be Murphy USA -Optopolis

Some History Behind This Property

Rite Aid #6330 was built at this location in 1998. It would seem that this location closed around the time Walgreens was buying Rite Aid stores throughout America in 2017; Google Maps Street view shows the signs were still up and cars were still in the parking lot until between July 2017 and July 2018, and the last public review left on Yelp is 07/12/2017 by Dezirae G.

Rite Aid as abandoned with signage taken down and realtor's sign posted in July 2018 -Google Maps

There is a strong possibility that needs further confirmation; there is a marker on Google Maps called Western Union (a common feature of pharmacies like Rite Aid and Walgreens) at this location, and the address block displayed on Google Maps appears as follows:

Walgreens, 3905 E 104th Ave, Thornton, CO 80233

This is not connected to the existing Walgreen's at 4351 E 104th Ave, roughly two blocks east of this Rite Aid; seeing "Walgreens" in the address block suggests to me this Rite Aid may have been one of the locations Walgreens purchased. If this is true, it's very possible that they decided to close this store instead of rebrand it, as there is already the aforementioned Walgreens off of Birch St. If you have further info on this, you are encouraged to leave a comment below sharing your knowledge.

The Rebuild as Murphy USA

The property assessor reveals a new account being added to the property just over two months ago in August. As of a few days ago, the entire Rite Aid building was not only long since demolished, but also replaced with a new building and an area that will soon house the gas pumps. Multiple signs hanging on the fence line reveal that it is in fact set to be Murphy USA.

A banner sign hung on the fence line displaying Murphy USA. -Optopolis

An alternate view of the soon-to-be Murphy USA from the corner of Colorado Blvd and E 104th. -Optopolis

What are your thoughts of the new Murphy USA being built at this location? Let me know in the comments below!

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