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NEWS
8 SIGNAL TRIBuNE
Center
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Sean Belk/Signal Tribune
A strip of retail storefronts on the northeast portion of the Bixby Knolls Shopping Center has a number of vacancies, however the property owner hopes to turn it around by upgrading the center with $1 million in façade improvements, including resurfacing the parking lot.
Department Store, which had been vacant for more than 11 years, and to construct a new 43,355-square-foot retail store for the Marshalls store. Jalali said major anchor tenants at the shopping center have also received financial incentives, including OSH, which was given a total of $372,302 in retail sales-tax incentives over a nearly 15-year period, and Vons, which has received a total of $129,834 through a similar sales-tax sharing program that sunsets on Dec. 1, 2014. Regarding the proposed façade improvement, Jalali said city staff have been working with the property owner and their architect on finalizing the design and subsequent submittal for plan check. On Sept. 12, staff had sent correspondence to GASKA, outlining outstanding plan-check corrections, but the City has yet to receive a response, he said, adding that city staff attempted to contact the property owner’s architect this week but their office was
Happy New Year from Bixby Knolls Car Wash!
We appreciate your business! We have the most polite and friendliest employees, & best of all...
THE BEST CUSTOMERS IN THE WORLD!
Thank you for another successful year! Shell & Sheldon Grossman
– Bixby Knolls owners for 35+ years
Bixby Knolls Car Wash
577 E. Wardlow Rd. @ Atlantic Avenue • 562-595-6666
& Detail Center
closed for the holidays. “At this time, we are awaiting GASKA’s architect/representative response to the plan-check corrections,� Jalali said. “We cannot proceed until GASKA comes back to the City with a revised plan, addressing these issues. Further, when plans are submitted, they will be checked to verify all corrections have been fully resolved.� GASKA representatives were unable to be reached for comment before the Signal Tribune’s deadline. Austin said he met with GASKA representatives about three weeks ago and they expressed “challenges� the center has faced throughout the years, such as the configuration of its location off of Atlantic Avenue and the lack of sufficient signage and front access for customers. “These are challenges that they face, and they hear from potential tenants all the time,� he said. “So we talked about some ways in which we can help possibly mitigate that.� Austin said that redeveloping the shopping center is part of a larger plan to continue economic development in Bixby Knolls and
JANuARy 3, 2014
Uptown, which is getting a new public library farther north down Atlantic Avenue. He said renderings for the proposed improvement project should be released in the next few months. “It’s critical for the economic development to continue,� Austin said. “This center is really in the middle of it all. We have to experience a turnaround here. We’re making progress in the north, and we’re making progress in Bixby Knolls– the bookends. The GASKA property is sitting stagnant. This has to be part of that grander plan.� Jalali noted that financial incentives are sparse after the dissolution of redevelopment agencies across the state, but city staff still have plans to find ways to continue economic development efforts. “Obviously, there are limited financial resources due to dissolution of the agency,� he said. “However, we continue utilizing other economic development tools, namely business loans and federal grant funds, to continue the City’s commitment to business development and neighborhood revitalization efforts.�
Sean Belk/Signal Tribune
A vacant storefront with a "for lease" sign remains empty between Marshalls department store and the building once occupied by Orchard Supply Hardware at the Bixby Knolls Shopping Center located off of Atlantic Avenue. Property owner GASKA Inc. is moving forward with $1 million in façade improvements in hopes of drawing new tenants to fill in the empty spaces.
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