|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Plus, Blackhawk Plaza bankruptcy concerns residents:
Worried that retail uses may be replaced by high-density residential allowed by zoning
We are fortunate to live in an area with magnificent Valley oaks that are easily centuries old, but we also have the growing firesticks known as non-native eucalyptus.
The city of Pleasanton took down a big eucalyptus tree from Lions Wayside Park in September 2020 amid concern from some residents, but city staff held firm that it had to go because of the fungus. It was the same over the last couple of weeks for the three-tree stand of massive eucalyptus on the westside of Foothill Road just north of Longview Drive.
These were huge trees, but were suffering from the brown fungus that rots the heart of the tree. It can grow invisibly for years, compromising the viability of the tree and raising the prospect of falling branches or worse.
The Foothill removal involved a huge, self-propelled crane truck to safely cut and remove segments. The Lions tree was estimated at 125 years old and these were easily that big or bigger. Crews finished the initial removal last week and were cutting up the stumps and grinding them—a substantial job—this week.
Important to remember that the eucalyptus are non-native, imported from Australia in the Gold Rush days of the 1850s when wood was used for many things and in high-demand. The fast-growing trees (up to 20 feet in a year in prime conditions) encouraged people to plant them—now remove, given their flammability, is the recommended activity.
It’s notable how concerned Danville and Blackhawk residents are about the future of the troubled Blackhawk Plaza shopping center. The center, with its center piece water feature with ducks and fish, readily drew families or grandparents taking their grandkids for an outing. It was a magnet.
Now, it’s closer to a drying up foul creek with routine maintenance seemingly suspended as the owner wrestles with financial issues. George Avalos’ reporting in the East Bay Times indicated just how much money is leveraged against the center. It lost its movie theater operator a few years ago and the one slated to move it has understandably gotten cold feet and backed away. The group has pending suits for its operations in Southern California and a receiver has been appointed for Blackhawk Plaza.
Contra Costa County has received enough calls about it that local Supervisor Candace Andersen has devoted a section of her its website to the shopping center—not sure you can even find that in San Francisco with the shuttered San Francisco Center mall (reports this week had it sold to local real estate investors).
Southern California-based Ramanujan Group purchased the center in 2020 for $28.3 million. Avalos reported that county records show an initial bank loan of $28 million followed by two additional loans, from different banks, totaling $8 million. A key anchor tenant, Draeger’s Market, closed earlier this year.
The adjacent Blackhawk Museum certainly is affected by the aesthetics, but operates separately.
The Contra Costa website notes that the underlying zoning for the parcel is medium density mixed-use residential that ranges from 30-75 units per acre plus any density bonus allowed by state law. Depending upon a project submitted, it may not require an amendment to the General Plan or updated zoning.
Despite being on the border of the upscale Blackhawk residential community, my observation is that the center never did as well as the Safeway-anchored center across the road. It should be noted that we loved going to the movies there for their bargain senior matinees.
