That has long been a topic of conversation both in West Davis and throughout the community. The city has consistently maintained that they have an interest in bringing a grocery store to Westlake, but there is little the city can do other than encourage it.
The argument from the owners until recently has been that they have tried to find a suitable grocer to come into the space, but there has been no interest. However that excuse has been discredited recently with revelations that there were several grocers expressing interest in the spot, however, the owners have reneged on verbal promises.
The Davis General plan states:
“All neighborhood shopping centers shall include neighborhood grocery stores / supermarkets except for the property located at the southeast corner of Pena Drive and Fifth Street (commonly known as Fifth Street Commerce Center) and the site at the northwest corner of Mace Boulevard and Alhambra Drive.”
The evidence from photographs taken yesterday, shows clear intents to subvert the General Plan and policy LU C.2.
Here we see that the cargo bay remains filled in. It has been filled in for a period of time sufficient for the growth of grass on the dirt. What purpose would filling in the cargo bay serve other than to make it difficult to locate a store there? Any business that looks at the site would see this and recognize that the owners are not serious about bringing in a grocery store.
The owners in January of 2008 attempted to get the planning commission to reduce the required size of the food store from 15,000 square feet to 3,000. That application was denied, however, the appeal was filed and has not been pulled.
The city could of course enforce the laws on the books and require that the owners keep the store in workable condition. They have chosen to allow the store to remain its current condition. At one point code enforcement apparently posted a notice of violations, however they never enforced the code violation.
Moreover, we see further evidence that owners are not serious about bringing in a grocer. Here are two pictures from the inside of the store. We see there is a mound of dirt, a hole in the ground, and that the entire inside has been stripped bare. The Vanguard was told that the inside alone will cost roughly $1.5 million to renovate. This again will act as a deterence to any prospective grocer unless the owners are willing to front the cash. They of course brought this on themselves by stripping the interior of the store after Food Fair left.
We also see a broken window that has been boarded up for several years. The city has a blight ordinance on the books that would require the owners to repair the window. The city has not forced the owners to repair it.
We see the ceiling on the northern exterior of the building is in poor condition and that entire section probably needs to be replaced.
There were recently huge potholes in the parking lot that have been paved over using concrete for some reason.
And finally the roof does not appear to be in great condition either, at the very least missing some tiles. The city ought to check the structural integrity of the building.
We are also told that there are exposed live wires in various spots, though we were told this after we finished going around the site.
The bottom line here is that there is much the city can do to enforce the laws on the books. If they had, we might be in much better shape right now trying to get a grocer onto the site. The city could do all of this tomorrow if they had the will and determination to do so.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
I was at the center last week doing some wash and decided to walk upstairs just to see who’s there. I couldn’t believe it. Except for the managers office, the entire 2nd floor is vacant. If the owners have any meaningful debt against this property it’s hard to imagine how much longer they can hold on without the income to support it.
Thank you David
Now maybe we will find out if a picture is really worth a thousand words. We have been complaining to the City about the deplorable condition of this shopping center for at least two years, but our complaints have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears.
Carolyn Hinshaw
DANG (www.davisdang.org)
Where is DANG in this? Have they been to the City Council, w pictures such as these, to complain about the city not enforcing its own building codes? This might be something DANG could get behind, to put some pressure on the owner to do what is right.
At one time I used to think a grocery store was not viable there, which was a disappointment, but I could have lived w it. But when I see how the owner has contributed to the problem on purpose, now I am angry. I want to see the city stick to the zoning as is, and force the owner to bring his building up to code. Nothing less will satisfy me…
[i]”The Vanguard argues in fact that there are a number of things that the city could do to enforce existing city ordinances.”[/i]
Will enforcing ‘existing city ordinances’ bring in a supermarket? Based on what you reported about the deal that fell through, it sounded like Westlake’s owners don’t have the cash to do what is necessary to ready their site for a supermarket tenant. Thus, if they can’t finance the needed improvements — even if the dereliction is all their fault — I’m not sure why enforcing codes will encourage them to get a grocery store in Westlake? They clearly already have a big incentive to get a tenant.
“If the owners have any meaningful debt against this property it’s hard to imagine how much longer they can hold on without the income to support it.”
I have wondered about this for some time. I used to work in commercial real estate (developing live-work properties in the Bay Area) and know that it is normal to have somewhere between 50-90% loan-to-value on a property like Westlake. With no anchor tenant for years now, this property should have gone into foreclosure. It’s possible, though, that they bought it for cash and never obtained long-term financing.
Another possibility is that their bank doesn’t want to take the property from them. This New York Times story ([url]http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/us/30walkaway.html?ref=business[/url]) says banks are walking away from foreclosures, because just possessing some real estate can generate unaffordable negative cash flow for the banks:
[i]”Banks are quietly declining to take possession of properties at the end of the foreclosure process, most often because the cost of the ordeal — from legal fees to maintenance — exceeds the diminishing value of the real estate. The so-called bank walkaways rarely mean relief for the property owners, caught unaware months after the fact, and often mean additional financial burdens and bureaucratic headaches.”[/i]
“Will enforcing ‘existing city ordinances’ bring in a supermarket?”
I believe it makes it much more likely.
For all you newbies to the Westlake issue . . . DANG has been rowing this boat for almost 3 years. We have brought all the code issues to the city’s attention and we even had our 8×10 inch glossies on screen at a City Planning Commission hearing over a year ago. We continue to meet and discuss all the Westlake issues and ideas with Council members and City staff . . . we spend an inordinate amount personal time every week trying to work through this challenge. Please go to our website , become informed and maybe join DANG (it is not an exclusive club). . .
Dang website
Anyone recall the name of the guy who torched the Anderson Bank building at 2nd/G street back in ’01 or ’02?? I say we find and hire him to burn the whole center down(w/out a permit of course, so the city really gets po’ed). I’ll contribute the first $100 to the pot. Just so we can be rid of this story. The city doesn’t care and it is just easier to stay on the sideline continue to do nothing. Why is this concept so difficult to grasp?
To Duke . . . we live here and we have to look at it every day. Kind of like neighbors having to look at the house on the block with the weeds and the old pickup with 2 flats parked where the lawn should be . . . that isn’t your house is it?
I’m glad that the Vanguard continues to keep this and other issues in front of the sideline sitting city staff and the bench warming citizens . . . eventually water wears down stone.
Well…you definitely have my wife and I beat in terms of putting up with blight! WE live in the shadow of that piece of crap shopping center on E.8th street(way east on the poor side of town). WE too don’t have a grocery store so learn to ignore it or move. The city won’t do anything because it doesn’t HAVE to. Your view is not theirs, sorry. Even when your center DID have a grocery store it wasn’t worth visiting–sooooo, did you shop there more than once in a while?? I thought so….See you at Costco! I love spending hundreds there because its money this city can’t extort from me!
Duke:
I used to shop at Rays three or four times a week.
“If the owners have any meaningful debt against this property it’s hard to imagine how much longer they can hold on without the income to support it.
I have wondered about this for some time. I used to work in commercial real estate (developing live-work properties in the Bay Area) and know that it is normal to have somewhere between 50-90% loan-to-value on a property like Westlake. With no anchor tenant for years now, this property should have gone into foreclosure. It’s possible, though, that they bought it for cash and never obtained long-term financing.”
If you guys are really interested, visit the Recorder’s office in Woodland. If there is debt, it is probably secured by the property and most lenders record their trust deeds – when they do, it becomes publicly available information for those willing to search for it.
DANG web site ([url]http://groups.dcn.org/dang[/url])
I don’t think the Westlake Shopping Center has been on the agenda of the Business and Economic Development Commission for quite a while. Here is the meeting schedule and location:
Fourth Monday of the Month – 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: DJUSD Admin. Building – 526 B Street, East Conf. Room
Staff liaison:
Sarah Worley, Economic Development Coordinator
Staff Phone: (530) 757-5610
“There were recently huge potholes in the parking lot that have been paved over using concrete for some reason.”
Concrete in potholes is probably not a bad idea. You should check out the potholes in the parking lot at the west end of Oak Tree Plaza (Nugget). They’re huge. They filled them a year ago with asphalt and they quickly reappeared.
On something unrelated… it appears Minnesota finally has a new U.S. Senator ([url]http://lexicondaily.blogspot.com[/url]), 5 months after the election, there. The fact that lawsuits can delay the sitting of a senator for months after one was supposed to be sworn in, causing an absence all the while crucial debates and votes were being held, is not my idea of justice.
“Minnesota finally has a new U.S. Senator”
I can’t think of a more nauseating outcome to this very unsettling chapter in American politics. I do disagree on one point though; I think justice has been served to the people of Minnesota. They will enjoy being represented by that crackpot Franken.
It is no different than Rush Limbaugh being elected US Senator by the great state of Texas.
Atty Gen. Eric Holder has dropped the conviction(s) of former Ak Sen. Ted Stevens due to prosecutorial misconduct. There, all you Franken-lovers out there, that ought to frost your pumpkin!
Don Shor makes a good suggestion. It is probably time to bring the issue of Westlake and its derelict state to the attention of the Business & Economic Development Commission. They may look the other way too, but it is certainly worth a try. That is what commissions are for. Bring it in front of any other commission you can think of that might be interested. The more the better…
Early in the process DANG members did attend and spoke at a BED Commission meeting. They were having a hearing about Westlake and were voting on a recommendation to City Staff for a Planning Commission public hearing regarding the property owners motion to the City to remove the 15,000 sqft grocery zoning requirement. The motion was denied by the Commission, but the property owner did appeal to the City Council, and the issue remains on their “long range calendar”.
We have been in contact with the City Economic Development Staff throughout this ordeal, and mid-April DANG has a meeting scheduled with Sarah Worley, Katherine Hess, and Bill Emlen. We have recently met with all City Council members (with the exception of Ruth Asmundson who is out of the country)to give them an update and to ask for their input and support.
“It is no different than Rush Limbaugh being elected US Senator by the great state of Texas.”
Or George Murphy or Sam Hayakawa being elected US Senator by the great state of California. Not to mention Ronald Reagan.
I say get Westlake on the BEDC agenda again. After a quick review of the minutes of their meetings, I don’t think they’ve discussed it in over a year.
“I say get Westlake on the BEDC agenda again. After a quick review of the minutes of their meetings, I don’t think they’ve discussed it in over a year.”
Don Shor is absolutely correct. You have to bring the matter directly to the commission, not just to staff, who tend to have an unholy alliance w developers. City staff could actually be undermining your efforts w/o you even knowing it. DPD has provided you w excellent pictures – use them before the BED Commission. If you can show a lot of seniors would use the grocery store for instance (don’t many seniors live across the street in those apts), bring the matter to the Senior Citizens Commission or any other commission you think might be appropriate.
The problem with the commissions is that they are basically powerless . . . they can make “recommendations” but they cannot make/change policy. My wife was chair of a city commission for 8 years (one of the few commissions that actually considered professional/career expertise as criteria when seeking appointees) . . . she was frustrated and finally quit because the City Staff and Council decisions were often made arbitrarily with little regard to the facts.
I have attended a couple BEDC meetings and found that the large number of commissioners make discussion and decisions very ponderous, with a tendency to get lost in the proverbial weeds. I’m not sure that there is any criteria for being on this commission . . . seemed like many commissioners had their personal agendas and did not read or research the agenda items.
I’m sure DANG would be willing to give it another try . . . at this point we need all the help we can get. Right now we need to find a way to get the $500-750K financing gap closed . . . this would get Delano’s Market installed into Westlake. Maybe someone on the commission has an idea that we haven’t already explored?
“I’m sure DANG would be willing to give it another try . . . at this point we need all the help we can get. Right now we need to find a way to get the $500-750K financing gap closed . . . this would get Delano’s Market installed into Westlake. Maybe someone on the commission has an idea that we haven’t already explored?”
It is certainly worth a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Also, bring a ton of people with you, so that you make it clear you have sizeable backing. Petitions are a good method too. Get a lot of signatures on a petition as well.
We have gathered over 1,000 signatures on our petition to support and maintain the existing zoning for the grocery at Westlake. Please go to the davisdang.org website (DANG=Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries) and submit your petition. We need all Davis residents to support this cause, because the next grocery we need to save, may be yours . . .