CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. plans to relocate its drug store on Market Street in Harrisburg, Pa., to adjacent Strawberry Square, a 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use center in the heart of the capital city’s downtown.

Rite Aid’s Market Street store in downtown Harrisburg is moving to the nearby Strawberry Square center (see photo below).

With the move, the store at 309-11 Market Street will be remodeled to the drug chain’s Wellness Store format, which offers expanded clinical pharmacy services, an enhanced store layout, and a wider selection of wellness-oriented products and services.

Rite Aid said Monday that the new 14,000-square-foot store, slated to open in December, also will feature a street-level and an interior entrance.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to bring our unique brand of health and wellness to such a prime location in downtown Harrisburg,” David Kelly, Rite Aid senior vice president of store development at Rite Aid, said in a statement.

“Rite Aid has had a presence in Harrisburg for more than 40 years. Relocating to Strawberry Square builds upon our commitment to the community and enables us to better serve and meet the needs of longtime customers, while also introducing our brand to customers who are new to Rite Aid,” Kelly added

From the street-level entrance of the Strawberry Square store, customers will find a wooden path leading right to the pharmacy. Inside, customer will find a relaxing, warm color palette with wood tones and softer lighting, as well as overhead rings that designate each section, such as beauty, food, home care and seasonal. And as in other Wellness Store locations, the store will offer hundreds of new health and wellness products, including organic and gluten-free foods.

Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg.

The pharmacy area will feature a private consultation room where Rite Aid pharmacists can counsel patients, administer vaccinations and offer other clinical pharmacy services. Wellness Stores have pharmacists with special training in diabetes care, medication management and immunizations for about a dozen diseases, such as flu, pneumonia, shingles and whooping cough.

The format also includes the Wellness Ambassador, a special service associate  who works with the pharmacists to provide customers with access to information on over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and supplements, as well as Rite Aid programs and services.

Rite Aid said the Market Street store relocation and upgrade is in line with efforts to revitalize Harrisburg’s downtown. The drug chain is working on the project with Harristown Development Corp., a private, nonprofit organization that aims to revive Harrisburg’s downtown and re-establish it as the economic and cultural center of the metropolitan area.

Harristown Development soon plans to announce further redevelopment plans for new and current tenants in Strawberry Square, Rite Aid added.