I suppose this is cosmic justice for me: I’ve often criticized the NIMBY neighborhood groups in the McBean area for their outspoken and hyperbolic reaction to the hospital’s expansion (along with the proposed Singing Hills MOB). Now look what’s being built up in my neighborhood: a ginormous Walgreens building at the corner of Lyons & Valley that completely blocks views of the mountains to the south east.
Is it ugly? Yes. Do I resent it? Kind of. Is the pharmacy industry over-represented in my little slice of Santa Clarita? Most definitely.
But you won’t catch me complaining about it too much because, in general, I support “in-fill” projects like this. Better that we build a Walgreens here, in the city, on vacant land, than tear up a hillside and build it somewhere on the edges of town. And while the architecture (if you could call it that) of this building is likely to be as plain and boring as the CVS Pharmacy and Ralphs shopping center across the street, I recognize that my views are subjective and not shared by everyone in town.
And believe it or not, I like that this building is facing the street, that it’s right there on Lyons Avenue and not set back behind an acre of parking like virtually every other strip mall in the SCV.
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