A different kind of London Drugs is coming to Vancouver next year
London Drugs and Fresh St. Market have been confirmed as the anchor tenants at Alba, which is a new Vancouver rental community from Hathstauwk.
Dished Vancouver covered the Fresh St. announcement, which will occupy a whopping 21,452 sq. ft.
Alba is located at 377 Penticton St., offering over 150 rental homes, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units.
The London Drugs, which Hathstauwk says will be pharmacy-focused, will occupy a much smaller 4,766 sq. ft. of space in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood. It’ll be the first of its kind in Vancouver.
If you’re familiar with the neighbourhood, you might recall that there actually used to be a much bigger full-sized London Drugs that was demolished in mid-2024. Previous development plans called for a much larger store.
In 2023, Daily Hive Urbanized reported that the commercial floor area was expected to be roughly the same as the rezoning, with about 25,000 sq. ft. for the London Drugs store with a pharmacy and medical clinic and 2,000 sq. ft. for a restaurant unit at the building’s corner at the intersection.
“With Fresh St. Market and London Drugs right downstairs, everything you need is here. Fresh groceries, a trusted community pharmacy, health and wellness essentials and an excellent meal on a busy night all within a few steps from your front door. That’s what Alba is about: a beautiful place to live in a neighbourhood that’s easy to love, with two of B.C.’s best-loved family brands as your neighbours,” said Hathstauwk Executive Director Ray Bourbonnais.
While it’ll be pharmacy-focused, the London Drugs is expected to carry curated health and wellness products and everyday essentials, super convenient for folks who will be living in Alba.
Alba is hosting an open house on Sept. 20, and you can RSVP online.
London Drugs has had a complicated recent history in Vancouver. A couple of notable locations have closed, the most notable being the Woodward’s location in Gastown.
The Woodward’s location closed due to a tough relationship with the neighbourhood, and “persistent safety incidents” were blamed.