My New Blog

As the plans for the Rancho Del Mar Shopping renovation project become clearer, the fate of the 14 local businesses that occupy retail space to be eliminated within the center during the renovation has become even more clouded. Representatives from Safeway and local design firm Hamilton & Swift and Associates held a town meeting in the Santa Cruz Community Center Tuesday, July 17. At the meeting they planned to discuss and take input on their preliminary design plans. The plans include moving the Safeway store and increasing it from 35,000 to 60,000 sq ft. Also to be enlarged were the queuing space and gas station capacity to 18 fueling stations, compared to the current eight.

However, the T-shirts and handmade signs with the phrase “No Safeway Megastore” made it apparent that many Aptonians were less interested in the design elements and food selection Safeway would offer in their new store. They were more concerned about how this project will affect local business owners who have become an integral part of the Aptos town culture.

We spoke with Charlie Eadie of Hamilton Swift & Associates on the matter of design and how the proposed center will fit into the current Aptos culture. He said, “The architect is seeking to take into account the current landscape, history, and suggestions from the community in evolving the design. In addition, we hope the ease of parking, walking, shopping, dining and other new amenities will help make this center a destination where shoppers will enjoy spending an afternoon.”

In regards to the 14 merchants who will be seriously affected by the two-plus years of construction, and significant rent increases, Eadie said, “this is going to take time to sort out, and it will be sorted on a tenant by tenant basis that involves private negations that takes all factors into account.”

It may be true that improved parking, pedestrian and handicap access, new landscaping and outdoor spaces for gathering and eating, and needed structural improvements will increase traffic for merchants and improve their overall shopping experience. However, even Safeway admits that about the same number of people will be shopping at the store due to Aptos being a community with relatively little new housing planned.

We checked in with Ace Hardware owner, Rodney Hoffer who offered to touch on how his negotiations with Safeway were going. He said, “normally your landlord wants to work with the tenant and help make the tenant's business successful. That is not the situation at Rancho Del Mar. They are doing that by dramatically increasing the occupancy expense. Safeway only talks about the pretty side of the project, the realistic side is the one that people need to hear.”

Hoffer's frustration comes from recent lease rate increases due to a property tax increase and a one-year lease option increase. “The current economic revenue generated by the center’s traffic will not support an almost 40 percent increase in rent by the time the project is complete” said Hoffer; speaking of the effect this project will have on the Center’s merchants.

The question that the public has been asking Safeway at the two public meetings that Hamilton Swift & Associates has held is: “As both the landlord and the developer, what are you going to do for the present tenants to make the transition easier and not just put them out of business?”

Until now, the new landlord’s (Safeway) answers have not satisfied Lindsey Bryant, the owner and manager of Erik’s Deli in Aptos. Bryant is not only concerned about how this project will affect her livelihood, but how it will impact the livelihood of her nine employees, some of which have worked at the Aptos Erik’s for 12 years. The Deli opened in 1977, and has called Rancho Del Mar home since its beginning.

“I’m very concerned about the fate of Erik’s, and my employees,” Bryant stated. “We have been a part of this community for 35 years and we simply can’t afford to shut our doors for two years while our part of the center is being remodeled. We are very uncertain about our shop’s fate because there has been little communication from Safeway and property management when it comes to the transition ‘plan.’ Safeway has the ability to do something great here when it comes to preserving Aptos including its small business owners and their customers. I just hope they choose to do so."

While the Rancho Del Mar Renovation plan is still in it’s early stages, plans and negotiations are quickly progressing and Hamilton & Swift hopes to submit their project application to the county before 2013. According to Eadie, nothing has been set in stone and several alternative solutions to this project exist.

One alternative to the plan, according to Hoffer is to just remodel the current Safeway building. However, according to Safeway, limitations to this alternative include insufficient parking, building height sensitivity, highway view corridor issues and continuing lines at the gas pumps that have been known to instigate quarrels and back up onto busy intersections.

Eadie said, “The bottom line is this level of improvement will help facilitate better business. The previous rent structure was reflective of a low cost basis, and the real estate market is what it is. That is not a matter for public discourse. Ultimately the rents that get charged will correlate with the quality of the center,” he concluded.

The next design meeting will be held on August 22, in the Santa Cruz Community Center at 7 pm, and is open to the public.
The primary concern for Aptonians remains, “What will be the fate of small business in Aptos.”

Preliminary design concepts can be viewed on the Rancho Del Mar website www.ranchodelmarcenter.com, and feedback/opinion can be expressed on the Friends Of Aptos Merchants (FOAM) Facebook page.

Friday, 27 July 2012 02:12 Rancho Del Mar Center Renovation Endangers Small Business By Courtney Dimpel