SPRINGDALE — Northwest Arkansas residents will soon have another choice when it comes to filling prescriptions.

At least three CVS pharmacies have been proposed for Northwest Arkansas cities, most recently in Springdale. Bella Vista and Fayetteville officials approved development plans for CVS pharmacies in July.

CVS Pharmacy is a national chain, second to Walgreens in the number of stores it operates. Company officials announced Feb. 5 tobacco products would no longer be sold in stores by Oct. 1, a move that could cost the company up to $2 billion in sales annually.

A man whose work could be impacted by the construction of the Springdale store said the decision interested him. Don French is a salesman for NWA Carfinders, a used car lot at 2003 S. Thompson St. Plans indicated the store would be built at corner of Thompson Street and Robinson Avenue.

“They said they were in the business of selling products that keep you healthy,” French said. “Tobacco products hurt your health so that didn’t fit with what they wanted to do. I like that.”

Competition in the area is already fierce for the sales of many of the items sold by CVS Pharmacy, said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas. National chains have entered the area in the last few years, she said, such as Walgreens and Kum & Go. The fuel station convenience stores compete with pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, she said.

“These companies have figures they put in their models,” Deck said. “The job growth in the area projects as more population growth. Their stores would more likely have success.”

Three stores coming at nearly the same size isn’t a surprise, Deck said. Once a distribution network is set up, it’s more economical to deliver to more than one store in an area, she said.

The only CVS Pharmacy in Arkansas is in Texarkana, according to the company’s online store locator. The company has three stores scheduled to open this fall in Arkansas, according to Michael DeAngelis, CVS Pharmacy director of public relations.

Those stores are in Sherwood, Van Buren and Bella Vista, according to DeAngelis’ email. The company has additional projects in development, but company officials comment only on stores where there’s a signed agreement.

In July, the Bella Vista Planning Commission approved a large-scale development for a 13,000-square-foot building at the intersection of Bella Vista Way and Mercy Way to house a CVS. Also in July, the Fayetteville Planning Commission approved plans for a CVS store at the northeast corner of the intersection of Township Street and College Avenue.

Site development plans for a Springdale store are being reviewed by city planners. The plans show construction of the 1,352-square-foot store would take down the old Sunrise Inn, 2001 S. Thompson St., which was closed by the city in November 2011. The hotel was called a public nuisance with unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

The Sunrise Inn property is owned by First Security Bank. The bank foreclosed on the former owners, according to Tonya Patrick, vice president of special assets, and purchased the property in 2012 in the ensuing auction. The property was formerly owned by NWA Motel LLC, the company that ran the motel.

Patrick said she didn’t have any comment on any impending sale but said the property was available for purchase.

“The bank would like to be out of the real estate business,” Patrick said.

The hotel was the scene of numerous police calls, Detective Travis Monson said at the time of the closing. Calls included complaints about public intoxication, disorderly conduct, methamphetamine labs and other drug-related incidents.

The car lot that would be removed by the project is owned by James and Michelle Duggar. Their son, Josh Duggar, ran a used-car lot there before moving. A phone call to the Duggars wasn’t returned.

The plans for the Springdale store are scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on March 4.