Washington Trust Bank says its in the process of selling to Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. part of a parcel of property it bought in Airway Heights last summer


The Spokane bank plans to build its first Airway Heights branch on part of that 6-acre parcel, at the southeast corner of Hayford Road and U.S. 2.


It only needs 2 acres for its full-service branch, though, so its selling the rest of the land, with Walgreen taking 2 acres of it, says Susan Glover, the banks senior vice president and director of retail banking.


The bank branch will be located just east of the roughly 2 acres of land Walgreen is buying, says Keith Erhart, vice president of administrative services at Washington Trust.


The sale to Walgreen is expected to close in August or September, Glover says. The bank doesnt have any potential buyers currently for the remaining 2 acres of land, she says.


Carol Hively, Walgreen Co.s corporate spokeswoman, says the drugstore chain doesnt have plans to open a store in Airway Heights at this time. She adds that the company typically leases land for its stores, instead of buying it. Walgreen has nine stores in the Spokane area, its Web site says. It doesnt have an outlet in Airway Heights.


Washington Trust plans to start building its 3,400-square-foot bank branch at the site in Airway Heights within about a month, Erhart says. The bank plans to select a contractor soon for the project, which was designed by Wolfe Architectural Group PS, of Spokane. Washington Trust hopes to open the branch in mid-December, Glover says.


Contact Emily Brandler at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyb@spokanejournal.com.