Ground was broken Tuesday for the new Byrd Watson Drug Store at 790 West McCord in Centralia just east of the west side Casey’s Store.
Construction on the new 4,000 square foot building is scheduled to begin on Thursday.
The project came together as Bradford National Bank brought Tyler Rueter who owns the property, with Byrd Watson owner Kim Wieter who was looking for a new location.
Rueter noted he had bought the property several years ago with the idea of locating a laundromat, but later decided on a different location.
“This is a true example of what it takes for a community to come together, every piece, every component, to get a job like this done,” Rueter said.
Wieter thanked everyone for getting to this point and said her goal to make sure Byrd Watson Drug that was founded in 1906 has a strong future.
“We’re going to put in drive-throughs, we’re going to have some private consultation rooms, we’re going to put in a compounding lab. Basically, the shopping center has served us well but we’re outgrowing the space,” Weiter said. “We’re looking to start building Thursday, they tell me, and hopefully we’ll be able to finish by the beginning of October.”
The General Contractor on the project is Johannes Construction of Centralia.
Byrd Watson owner Kim Wieter speaks at the groundbreaking. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
