The big empty lot at the intersection of State Highway 20 and Pioneer Way in Oak Harbor may be the future home of a new Rite Aid Pharmacy and a yet unidentified fast-food restaurant.

White-Leasure Development of Boise recently made a pre-application to the City of Oak Harbor for a two-building commercial development on the empty 2.36-acre lot that once held Berg Ford.

The pre-application calls for a 17,000-square-foot drug store, which is identified on a schematic as Rite Aid.

In addition, the developer proposes to build a 4,500-square-foot “quick serve” restaurant next to the pharmacy; the restaurant is nameless in the documents.

The property is owned by Daniel and Sharon Berg of Oak Harbor.

A pre-application is only a preliminary step in the construction of a proposed development and doesn’t necessarily mean the project will came to fruition, Oak Harbor Development Services Director Steve Powers said.

Indeed, last year an architect and a construction manager for McDonald’s Corp. submitted a pre-application to build a 4,386-square-foot restaurant on the Berg site.

It would have been the third McDonald’s in the greater Oak Harbor community, but the project didn’t come together.

Oak Harbor Mayor Scott Dudley noted that Oak Harbor already has a Rite Aid store in the Safeway complex, but added he has no concerns about it relocating to a new building at the currently vacant property.

A corporate Rite Aid spokeswoman said the company is evaluating its options in the area.

Dudley said it is important for the city to have something in the high-profile site.

Such businesses are important for a community as the baby boomer generation starts to retire, he added.

Just across the street from the property is a Walgreens drugstore.