Growth of retailer’s veterinary services leads to proposed store revamp near Tacoma Mall

A national pet-supply chain has submitted plans to remodel and expand its veterinary offerings at its store near the Tacoma Mall.

Petco this month filed initial plans with the city of Tacoma for a store remodel at its 4028 Tacoma Mall Blvd. store.

The project would add a full-service veterinary clinic for minor same-day procedures, including waiting room and rooms for exams, treatment X-rays and surgery, as well as a day kennel room and a training room. A new staff restroom, office and adoption area also are listed in the plans.

Work on the estimated $585,000 in renovations is anticipated to start in July, though start dates are typically in flux, and the plans are still in preliminary stages.

The project for now is missing required documents, along with fees due before proceeding, according to the city’s permit status timeline.

A media representative for Petco would not discuss the project or offer any further details in response to questions Monday.

Petco has vaccination clinics at stores in more than 40 cities in Washington, including the Boulevard Center site, which offers vaccinations and microchipping.

Last March, Petco announced it would purchase Thrive Pet Healthcare’s 50 percent stake in its pet hospital joint venture, launched in 2017. The hospitals at the time operated at nearly 100 Petco centers in 14 states under the Thrive brand.

Petco at that time said it would transition the Thrive locations to its Vetco Total Care hospital brand, “offering a consolidated brand experience to customers of their full-service veterinary hospitals across the Petco pet care center network.”

On Monday (Jan. 30), Petco announced a combined two-tiered customer loyalty system under its “Vital Care” program.

“The free membership tier, ‘Vital Care Core,’ and paid membership tier, ‘Vital Care Premier,’ make it more convenient, accessible and affordable for pet parents to tap into every resource Petco offers across more than 1,500 Petco pet care centers, petco.com and the Petco app,” the company said in its release.

It is the second major overhaul proposed regarding a retail site at the shopping center, which is home to Cost Plus World Market and Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts, among other retailers.

Last fall, Mor Furniture for Less submitted plans with the city for a new store at the Boulevard Center. The Mor site would move into the space left behind by OfficeMax, which closed several years ago. Those plans appear to be moving forward, based on latest permit filings.

The Boulevard Center is near the Tacoma Mall expansion site that includes Nordstrom Rack, Ulta Beauty and Total Wine & More, which opened in fall 2021.