Issue 188, Summer 2009 - Telegraph Hill Dwellers

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a d v e r t i s e m e n t 10 Issue #188 • Summer 2009
Why Are There So Many Vacanciesin North Beach?by Cathy Dooley, President, North Beach MerchantsOn everyone’s minds these days, with thenational downturn of the economy, is thestate of North Beach’s commercial district.The question arises, why so many vacancies and whatcan we do about it? Someof the statistics may surpriseyou. Surveys takenby THD in 1986, in 1999,and again in 2007 showthat there were 45 storefrontvacancies in 1986, 38in 1999, and 30 in 2007.[see Semaphore Issue #180,Summer 2007 “NorthBeach NeighborhoodCommercial DistrictControls at 20 —A Surveyof Changes”] Comparethat to a survey of vacanciestaken in August of thisyear, which shows a totalof 32 vacancies. A breakdownof these 32 currentlyvacant storefronts revealsthat 3 are leased but arecurrently unoccupied, 9 aresimply empty and are notfor rent, and 20 are vacant1546 Grant Avenueand for lease.Let’s take a closer look at these numbers. A goodexample of an unoccupied but leased space is 501Columbus—the former site of JB’s Hamburgers. Itwas leased in April of 2007 for a new, small selfservicerestaurant. The new tenant received a buildingpermit on August 2, 2007 and began renovationsshortly thereafter, with the anticipated opening dateof a new restaurant slated for November 2008.But the restaurant is till empty and covered withplywood and graffiti. A conflict over who is financiallyresponsible for repairs—landlord or tenant—seems to have completely stalled the project withno new opening date insight. This category alsoincludes several propertiesowned by WB Coyle—1429 Grant Avenue and454 Columbus—bothlong vacant with unspecifiedplans to eventually bereoccupied by the owner.As to the next categoryof vacancy, storefrontssimply not for rent, we canlook to the perhaps themost egregious example,1546 Grant Avenue, formerlyVictor’s Restaurant.This property has beenshuttered and not for rentfor almost 25 years. Theowner has been approachedmany times by would-betenants, only to be turnedaway and told it is not forlease. In the meantime, ithas become rundown anda popular site for homeless encampments and illegaldrug activities. Another example of this type of situationis the old North Beach Video storefront on the1300 block of Grant Avenue. Closed and reduced insize in order to give more space to Dupont Thai, ithas remained empty and not for rent for a number ofcontinued on page 12Issue #188 • Summer 2009 1 1
Page 2 and 3: p. 36p. 23p. 27THE SEMAPHORE # 188
Page 4 and 5: PRESIDENT’S CORNERwhere demolitio
Page 6 and 7: North Beach Saloon Culture continue
Page 8 and 9: FROM THE DESK OFSupervisor CHIUAs b
Page 12 and 13: North Beach Vacancies cont’d from
Page 14 and 15: Murals of North Beach continued fro
Page 16 and 17: Murals of North Beach continued fro
Page 18 and 19: NORTH BEACH UNIQUEby Art PetersonMo
Page 20 and 21: North Beach Unique continued from p
Page 22 and 23: Restaurant ReviewNOT JUST A CHOPHOU
Page 24 and 25: Art & Culture Salon CelebratesHisto
Page 26 and 27: What’s Special about Appleton?by
Page 28 and 29: PARKS, TREES, & BIRDS REPORTCoit To
Page 30 and 31: PARKING & TRAFFIC REPORTby Gail and
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Page 34 and 35: ART & CULTURE REPORTby Julie Jaycox
Page 36 and 37: DEPRESSiON ERA GARDEN RAISESCROPS A
Page 38 and 39: THE ALFA NOSEBy Kathleen CannonSpid
Page 40: Telegraph Hill DwellersP. O. Bo x 3

Issue 188, Summer 2009 - Telegraph Hill Dwellers

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