The argument by those who were skeptical about the prospects of a new store coming to West Lake was simple, no one would simply allow their property lie vacant intentionally and take financial losses. That would be illogical. However, on November 24, 2008, right before Thanksgiving, I was looking for a topic and somewhat casually I listed out top goals for the coming year and there I decided to put getting a grocery store at the top of the list.
I will be West Davis Centric for right now. This is really my top goal for the upcoming year. I have lived next to West Lake Shopping Center now for over eight years, unbelievably. Since May of 2006 there has not been a grocery store. Amazingly places like Lamppost Pizza, the little Mexican place, the Chinese place, and others have not gone out of business, even as West Yost Associates has also moved.
Criticism has to be lobbed at the owner, at least in the past, who first allowed the condition of the location to deteriorate, filled in the cargo bay at the rear of the grocery store, and it is unclear how hard he searched for a grocery store of the approximate size of 15,000 to 26,000 square feet.
A good specialty grocery store could work very well in this location. It turns out there are good amount of smaller chains that specifically design small and middle size grocery stores. We just have to find one to make it work.
There are people right now hard at work trying to find the right store to come into this location. This needs to be a top priority.
The facts at the time were daunting. Food Fair left the location in May of 2006. They were the third store to occupy that spot, all left for a variety of reasons. The owner was not committed to a store there, they had tried to change the zoning requirements to be able to put in a 3000 square foot convenience store but were blocked by the Planning Commission. They would appeal this decision. They argued they tried and failed. However, some of us did not believe they tried very hard.
I’ll let my friend Rich Rifkin’s comments speak for the naysayers:
“Are you kidding, David? Unclear? I suspect you’ve never been in the commercial real estate business. You should have a discussion with someone like Masud about this. You just are not living in the real world.
The owner of Westlake, Jim Barcewski, has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent by not finding a tenant for that space. He CLEARLY would prefer to have that space rented to a grocer, as grocers support his other tenants. I spoke with him about his efforts, and I believe he tried extremely hard. He traveled up and down the west coast looking for a tenant. He also hired a full-time agent just to work on finding a grocer for that space. No one wanted it.”
On the surface that was a convincing argue – but it was not true. Within a short period of time, DANG and a couple of consultants within a short time found some prospective grocers that were interested in the location.
Shortly after the Vanguard ran the article, Vanguard radio had the DANG team on its radio show. The road would be long and fraught with hurdles and barriers, but DANG never wavered in its goal to bring West Lake a Grocer.
I am not going to get into the long process from the time that the DeLanos entered the scene until the contract was finally signed and the announcement was made. Briefly, in February 2009 it looked like a deal was imminent but the owner backed out of a handshake deal for financing. By March that meant a deal was dead and the DeLanos appeared to have backed out. Again, DANG never gave up.
One of the keys to getting the agreement done was pushing the city into action. Behind the scenes, DANG pushed, prodded, and never ever gave up.
The Vanguard on April 1, 2009 ran a very simple story, basically it was a collection of photographs of the site, documenting multiple violations of city codes.
The city had simply for two and a half years failed to enforce the codes on their books. So we had photos of the filled in cargo bay in violation of the ordinance and belying the intent of the owners. Inside the store had been stripped of its infrastructure, there were mounds of dirt on the floor, holes in the ground, and all of the replacement would be extremely costly. And of course, the broken window boarded up.
After the Vanguard ran this story, the city moved into action, actually issuing citations and the owner would eventually repair the window, although they did not fix the loading dock.
Next DANG pushed the city council to pass a resolution supporting the concept of neighborhood grocery stores particularly at West Lake. They also looked into funding mechanisms such as the formation of a new Redevelopment Agency.
The writing was on the wall. DANG had gotten the city to get involved. DANG had gotten the city council to get involved. DANG kept the DeLanos in the loop. DANG pushed and prodded and did not let the process die. And the owners knew it and it kick started new talks. Suddenly the possibility that the owners could get out of the city ordinance for grocery stores and change the zoning had evaporated. DANG kept the public inform, the neighborhood vigilant, and the city moved into their corner.
This is a great model for civic activism. It is a great lesson for how a small group of citizens can make a difference in their community. But it takes fortitude, passion, and most of all patience. There were many times in the last even six months where the hopes seemed bleak. But the tenacity of DANG did not let the dream die.
At the council meeting in early July the announcement was made and DANG’s representatives who had worked so long and so hard for this moment spoke.
Eric Nelson one of the board members of DANG:
“It took everyone working together to make this happen. That’s the way that government and grassroots involvement is supposed to work. I predict that a year from now, we’ll have a vibrant center fully leased that will be the pride of West Davis.”
Russell Snyder also one of the board members:
“The original plan that went before the planning commission for a small convenience store was not going to serve the 13000 residents that live in Davis west of 113. We needed something that would be a little bit more, that would be more adequate to serve the needs of the community. This has been a long and a very difficult road to get us to where we are today.”
And last week, the agreement was finally signed, the Vanguard had the privilege of breaking the news to the community.
On Monday that agreement was officially signed according to Harley DeLano, the company’s CEO.
“That’s correct we signed the agreement on Monday afternoon. It’s a ten year term with two five year options after that.”
The DeLanos are targeting the week of Thanksgiving for a possible opening on the store.
“That’s a pretty aggressive target, so depending upon the permits and construction time, it may take a bit longer than that. But we’d like to be open before the holidays are through.”
Russell Snyder posting on the Vanguard comments summed it up:
“I have not pulled any punches in criticizing the center owners. Farrokh Hosseinyoun and Jim Barcewski, over their (admitted) poor upkeep of the Westlake Plaza Shopping Center over the years. But now they have invested time and money in the center, and it is looking better than ever. DeLano’s will be the jewel in the crown, and everyone in West Davis will be able to take pride in our local shopping center the same way we take pride in giving visitors a tour of Villiage Homes, the Stonegate Country Club or the West Davis Pond. For that, we should be sure to thank Mr. Hosseinyoun and Mr. Barcewski for being partners in this successful outcome.”
We should all take heed about what can be done even when all hope seems bleak and everyone tells you it cannot be done. This is a great lesson because West Davis will have a grocery store in a few months due to the perseverance and tenacity of ordinary citizens who believed they could make a difference. Perhaps we should all take that approach and this community could be a better place.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
My hat’s off to DANG! Great work folks. Thank you for the chance to have a neighborhood market again. Maybe this time the owners will get it right. Thanks also to the Vanguard for reporting on this.
Good work, DANG!
Reminds me of our downtown’s Steve Tracy, and the 5th St improvements that he has personally pushed for nearly 10 years. Hopefully the final project will be approved soon.
Yes, this model of civic activism shows what can be done if enough pressure is brought to bear. It also shows that naysayers need to be ignored, if the cause is right. Congrats to DANG! You are an inspiration to us all!
Although DANG (Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries) played a pivotal role in securing a grocery store for Westlake Plaza, there were some individuals who were essential to the process. As the DANG board of director’s “mouthpiece” and VP, I would like to acknowledge these folks:
David Thompson, Kevin Wolf and Marcelo Campos were there in the beginning (and stuck with us) to help coalesce, incubate and guide us;
Bill Ritter and Maynard Skinner were hired to represent the property owners in the community discussion, and they did a fantastic job (above and beyond the cal of duty) keeping everyone talking and focused on the goal;
David Greenwald kept the issue on the public radar, and we appreciate the exposure the Vanguard provided;
The intrepid DANG board members (Katherine West, Carolyn Hinshaw, Russell Snyder, Marcelo Campos, Patricia Echeverria, David Thompson, Kevin Wolf and Jennifer Wendt ) canvassed the neighbors and the Westlake tenants, got the petitions signed, researched possible grocery tenants, made site visits to potential groceries, worked the phones and the e-mail, attended the dozens of meetings, put up the website, drafted and filed the non-profit incorporation docs . . . which happened with the pro bono help provided by our civic minded attorney, Chad Carlock;
DANG is also grateful that all City Council members took time to meet with us and that the City Staff helped keep the information and communication flowing;
Finally nothing would have happened without the willingness of the Westlake property owner, Farok Hosseinyoun, to work together with the very patient grocer, Harley DeLano, to create a good deal for both parties.
DANG hopes that other neighborhoods with issues of this sort and who are searching for solutions will use the “DANG Model”. DANG will be happy to assist those that are looking for help. We did form the non-profit so that the next community issue would not require reinvention of the wheel.
This is another example of the axiom: “It takes a village!”
Eric Nelson
DANG Board of Directors
Eric,
What sort of other civic issues is your nonprofit willing to address/assist with???
I’ll be happy to discuss this with you and bring a proposal to the DANG board. You can contact us through the DANG web site [url]davisdang.org[/url] or send an e-mail to [url]helpdang@gmail.com[/url].
DANG is having a board meeting tonight to discuss how we can help raise the community awareness of and support for DeLano’s Market at Westlake. Once they build it we have got make sure we come!
The sooner DeLano’s opens the better. My grocery list is getting pretty DANG long!