EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – CVS store in Downtown El Paso will be closing down for good on July 14th and the future of the building is still undetermined.

The store is located in a historical building originally known as C.N. Buckler Block built by architect Edward Kneezell in 1901.

It was destroyed in a fire in 1910, that took a life of the first El Paso firefighter to die defending the citizens of El Paso.

The building was then rebuilt by Trost and Trost.

It first served as the Elite Confectionary where Pancho Villa stopped by quite often to get his favorite ice cream treat.

The building was later bought by W.T. Grants Department Store and then purchased and restored by CVS in 2013.

Local historian Bernie Sargent said he is hoping the building continues to live on and gets into the right hands.

“I’m hoping whoever  decides they want to purchase it will keep it the way it looks. Maybe they will take it back a little further into history like it used to look and perhaps redo the inside a little bit how it used to be,” Sargent said.

He explained downtown needed more local stores open to keep the people coming and bring it back to life.

“When you restore and renovate a historical site it attracts more people that spend more money and more time in that area,” he said.

KTSM reached out to CVS and received a response that the store is closing down due to “local market dynamics, population shifts, a community’s store density, and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. “

In the email CVS stated that all prescriptions will be transferred to the nearby CVS Pharmacy at 5305 Montana Avenue.