By By Adrienne McKenzie
When driving around the City of Atmore, it is hard to ignore the construction sites of Walgreens and First National Bank &Trust and it is impossible not to wonder when these two establishments will be up-and-running.
Unfortunately, there is still no exact date on the grand opening of Walgreens or First National Bank &Trust, but the time is nearing when both buildings will be completely finished and open for business.
Chris Campanella, superintendent of Shamrock Construction Co., Inc., is in command at the Walgreens location. He could only give a tentative date on when the facility will be opening.
"It's hard for me to say when Walgreens will open," Campanella said. "On the 29th of this month Walgreens will start putting fixtures in the store. Typically it takes three weeks to a month for them to open up. It will probably be the latter part of June."
There are only a few finishing touches Walgreens needs in order to be complete, according to Campanella.
"It needs asphalt, landscape, floor tiles, wall coverings and the ceiling tiles are going in now," he said.
Walgreens spokesperson Carol Hively said the Atmore branch will be a great service for Atmore residents once the store is completed.
"This is going to be a typical Walgreens store, typical size and typical features," Hively said. "It will have pretty extensive photo finishing services. Also, the demand for prescription drugs is growing quickly. We think people will really appreciate the pharmacy services and the drive-thru pharmacy window."
James Meredith is the project manager of the First National Bank &Trust construction site. He also has no set date on when the bank will open but hopes it will be in July or the beginning of August. He also said the bank needs only some final touches before completion.
"It needs the finishing touch-ups on the inside like paint, wallpaper, floor covering, counters, some light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and all the furniture," Meredith said. "We hope to have the parking lot finished by the middle of June. Hopefully the exterior portion will be finished by the middle of June and then we can concentrate heavily on the inside."
Meredith said the progress has gone well considering the amount of unexpected issues he has encountered.
"It's gone remarkably well," he said. "Anytime you do a remodel you don't know the unseen problems. There were a lot of things we didn't know and we had to correct. Under the circumstances, it's gone pretty well."
Shep Marsh, president of First National Bank &Trust, is extremely anxious to get into the renovated building.
"It's never fast enough," Marsh said. "We are ready to get in but that's the way construction works. As soon as the building is ready we'll be there with bells on."