Walgreens will open its 14th Hawaii store next month at the old Safeway site on the corner of Pensacola and Beretania streets.

The company plans to hire between 25 and 30 employees for the 14,820-square-foot store, which is sharing the site with a 12,000-square-foot Petco, said Walgreen Co. spokes­man Robert Elfinger.

"The Beretania store will increase our presence and allow us to serve more customers of Hawaii," Elfinger said. In June the Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain opened locations in Hawaii Kai and Wahiawa.

Walgreen Co. acquired Safeway Inc.’s Hono­lulu site at 1121 Beretania St. in 2010 for $22.5 million when the grocery chain decided to build a larger store at a nearby location formerly occupied by Schuman Carriage Motors Inc., an automobile dealership. Walgreens didn’t disclose how much it is investing to renovate the space. This is the third location that Walgreens and Petco have collaborated on.

"The interesting part of it is that the strong national retailers are filing the void of building these stores where developers can’t create a profit position between the land and stores," said Cory Beall, project manager for Walgreens and Petco. "The national retailers are stepping up, buying their land and building their own stores. Walgreens, Target, Safeway are all doing that. They’re developing their own real estate. It’s somewhat of a new trend."

Hawaii has been an attractive market for national retailers because its stores have historically been among the highest-performing in their chains, he added.