Bartell Drugs, founded in 1890, is bringing their corporate headquarters to the West Seattle Corporate Center at 4025 Delridge Way S.W. in October of 2012.

The family-owned company operates 58 drugstores in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, with two locations in West Seattle and one in White Center.

Bartell’s public relations spokesperson Barry Bartlett said the time has come for the company to move from their current digs in a “very industrial area” of South Seattle to a more modern facility, and the WSCC fits their needs.

“I know they are excited about it because, number one, it is a great location and it has fiber-optic capabilities that the current building does not have, so that’s a big upgrade,” he said.

Bartell’s set up their South Seattle location in 1989 over their warehouse, which was “very functional at the time,” Bartlett said, but with new warehouse capabilities, corporate operations no longer need to be tied to shipping and receiving.

The move brings 100 employees to work in West Seattle (Bartlett said he was uncertain at this time whether additional positions might open up), and will undoubtedly provide a shot of economic stimulus to eateries and stores in North Delridge and beyond.

“Becoming part of that neighborhood and supporting local businesses will certainly be one of the things Bartell Drugs wants to do,” Bartlett said, adding that a couple of Delridge community groups have already extended a welcome, including the North Delridge Neighborhood Council.

“We are happy to see Bartell’s using space that has been vacant for several years, and welcome them to the neighborhood,” NDNC Co-chair Parie Hines said in an email. “It will be good for the business district at the north end of Delridge Way to have a strong business with a plan to stay into the future, particularly in such a prominent location. We have already extended an invitation to Bartell’s to come to Delridge Day on the 18th, and hope they will be actively engaged in the north Delridge neighborhood.”

Bartell Drugs will take over 32,000 square feet of the 120,000 square foot facility (about one-fourth of the building), according to Bartlett.

“We are one of the older corporations in the state; we are coming up on our 125th anniversary in 2015, so we are pretty excited about our presence in Seattle, and particularly West Seattle,” he said.

According to Bartell’s printed history, the company was founded by George H. Bartell Sr. in 1890. The 21-year-old Kansas native purchased the Lake Washington Pharmacy on Jackson St. and the company continued to build to their 58 locations today – all located in the Puget Sound area. The company has always been run by Bartell family members, making it the nation’s oldest family-owned drugstore chain.