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In the “new” Midway, Ginkgo would be replaced by Starbucks, and instead of Used and Rare Books, a two-story Barnes and Noble would lure in customers with cappuccinos and live readings.

Maria Bujold, a Hamline alum, Ginkgo patron and neighborhood resident, enjoys the eccentricities of the Midway.

“I pride myself in supporting the independent businesses in St. Paul,” she said.

“These small places are doing the right thing.”

Though she whole-heartedly supports small businesses, Bujold isn’t optimistic about the future of the neighborhood.

“I think we are going to see a decline in independent business and an increase in corporate chains that market convenience,” she said. “In the long run, it will be a high cost to society.”

Just down the street from the CVS construction site is Lloyd’s Pharmacy.

Lloyd’s has been locally owned and operated since 1918, and is known for very personalized customer service.

That’s why Ron Johnson, the pharmacy’s owner, isn’t really concerned by the arrival of CVS.

“It’s about service, about people knowing who you are when you come in,” he said.

“CVS runs a good operation, but most of our customers decided years ago that they wanted a small, independent store.”

Johnson has owned Lloyd’s for 29 years.

Though he doesn’t think CVS will bring damaging effects to his pharmacy’s profits, he admits that he expects changes.

“It always makes a difference when [a new store] opens because there’s one more person to take a slice of the pie,” he said.

CVS’s opening will follow Wal-Mart’s, which took place in May of last year.

Both CVS and Wal-Mart advertise low prices, long store hours, and convenience.

According to Jonathan Fage-Martinson it is precisely those services that allow big chains to eliminate competition from the smaller, independently owned businesses.

Fage-Martinson is the Executive Director at Sparc, a community development corporation.

“A drawback of [chains] is if they have a wide enough inventory, they will pull [sales] from the other small stores in the area,” he said.

Fage-Martinson said that he hopes CVS does not have an effect on long-term businesses like Lloyd’s Pharmacy.

“I think the neighborhood is changing quite a bit,” he said. We are going to see an increase of speed in which things change.

“The question is how that increased pressure for development fits within the fabric of the neighborhood.”

When complete, the new CVS will open its doors on the intersection of University and Snelling.

“[CVS] is located on such a prominent corner,” he said. “It will be interesting to see where the customers come from.”

Fage-Martinson doesn’t think CVS’s arrival is necessarily a bad thing.

“[University/Snelling] was an unused corner for many years. There will be some positive benefit in seeing some foot traffic there,” he said.

Brian McMahon of University United disagrees. His organization, like Fage-Martinson’s, deals with community development.

The entrance to the new CVS, McMahon said, is not conveniently designed for people on foot.

“There are many people who take the bus on University Avenue,” he said. “CVS will serve car-riders. It’s not very friendly to transit riders.”

McMahon’s organization advocated for CVS to build a multi-story, mixed-use structure.

To his dismay, CVS will be the building’s sole occupant.

“We were not successful in stopping them [from building],” McMahon said. “Why didn’t CVS put a second floor for working housing or something?”

McMahon is disappointed with the CVS Corporation as a whole.

“We challenged them every step of the way. CVS is a poster child of how a national chain distorts the economic model,” he said. “[Small businesses] can’t compete.”

Though reactions to CVS’s arrival are mixed, there is no question that it will make some sort of impact in the Midway community.

Residents will have to take it or leave it.

Brian Miller, district manager for CVS, could not be reached for comment.