The corner of Harlem Avenue and Circle Avenue in Forest Park, which used to be home to the CVS, now looks a little different.
The small strip mall recently underwent complete renovations and is gearing up to be fully open. Bloc Dispensary and Sploot Veterinary Care opened in June. Heal Wellness and Longevity will have a soft opening in August, offering an infrared sauna and cold plunge therapy.
“This concept is the first of its kind around here,” said Drew Krisco, managing broker at Bern Realty, a River Forest-based commercial real estate development and property management company. Forest Park doesn’t have any vets either, though Bloc is the second dispensary in town.
Krisco said all three businesses saw full renovations and over half-a-year of construction before opening.
“We gutted the CVS down to four walls,” he said. Even the east side of the property saw an update, as Dunkin’ Donuts also got a new facade, plus a small patio. And landscapers added trees, bushes and flowers throughout the newly paved parking lot.
“We really brightened it up to be good neighbors to Oak Park and River Forest,” Krisco said. “It really pops as an entryway into Forest Park.”
According to Krisco, grandson of Bern Realty’s founder, the company bought the corner property in 1983 — from the space that used to house the CVS to the current Dunkin’ Donuts and Pep Boys Auto Service and Tires.
In the early 1980s, Krisco said the Pep Boys building was the only one that existed on the property. Then, Bern Realty constructed the building that now houses Dunkin’ Donuts and the structure that once was home to Osco Drug, which became the CVS that closed in 2021.
Krisco said that Bern Realty is enthusiastic about sharing the newly rehabilitated corner with locals and “how excited we are to keep this asset in the family after all these years.”