Archive: Business & Technology

Trumansburg-based Palmer Pharmacy has signed a lease agreement to open a store in downtown Ithaca, representing another downtown Ithaca expansion for a locally-owned business, while at the same time filling a need in downtown Ithaca that extensive market research has indicated is a high priority desire among residents in the local community.   

 Palmer Pharmacy will be located on the ground floor of Cayuga Place, next to Urban Outfitters and the soon-to-be constructed Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit downtown Ithaca Transit Center. The 3,500 square-foot full-service pharmacy is expected to open in early October. It will carry a full line of brand name and generic prescription and over-the-counter medications, a full line of health and beauty aid, and when possible, specialty-order items requested by members of the community.

Downtown Ithaca’s Palmer Pharmacy will match the prescription drug prices of other retail outlets, and will also feature an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.        

Palmer Pharmacy currently has two locations; one on Main Street in Trumansburg, and another on Main Street in Ovid. Owner and pharmacist Darren Palmer says Palmer Pharmacy emphasizes one-on-one customer service. “It’s important to us that each customer feels like they can talk to us about their prescription and medical needs or concerns. That’s been our focus in Trumansburg and Ovid, and will be a priority in downtown Ithaca as well. We also know that downtown Ithaca has been without a pharmacy of its own for several years, so when the opportunity to expand into an area known for its local businesses arose, we decided to move forward with an expansion.”

Extensive market research conducted by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance revealed that a pharmacy was the one type of business local residents most wanted to have access to in    downtown Ithaca. The city’s urban core has not had one since CVS moved from the Commons more than 8 years ago. City of Ithaca Deputy Economic Development Director Phyllisa DeSarno and the DIA board and staff worked with Palmer Pharmacy for several months to identify a location that would be easily accessible for Palmer’s downtown customers and also allow the company to create the old-fashioned ice cream parlor that owner Darren Palmer has also wanted to do for several years.        

DeSarno praised the locally owned and operated aspect of Palmer Pharmacy, and the people who helped make the project happen. ”Bringing a pharmacy to downtown Ithaca has been a priority for me during the four years I’ve worked at City Hall, and I know it’s been a priority for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance and other community leaders as well. I’m thrilled that these collaborative efforts have brought us to this point and that most importantly; we can directly address the needs of the community, which has also been encouraging us to bring a pharmacy to downtown. I’m also especially appreciative of Darren Palmer and his staff, who have been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I know will bring the same caring, compassionate service to downtown Ithaca that Palmer Pharmacy’s customers in Trumansburg and Ovid have come to count on.”

Palmer Pharmacy will occupy the third of four available retail/commercial spaces in Cayuga Place, which is located on Green Street next to the Tompkins County Public Library. The mixed-use building, which also includes 68 apartments that have been fully occupied since opening in August 2008, has a final retail/commercial space on the ground floor, that faces the recently renovated Six-Mile Creek Walkway.

The pharmacy also becomes part of a larger urban renewal picture in that part of downtown, which includes the construction of Cayuga Place, renovation of the Six Mile Creek Walkway and Green Street Garage, creation of the Green Street Garage Walkway and it’s ground-floor commercial/retail space that houses Cinemapolis, as well as becoming a hub for public art, direct access from the Commons to Green Street and the Creek walk, and construction of the mixed-use Cayuga Street Garage building. 
----
v5i29