New retail centers planned for Ruby Hill, Vintage Hills New retail centers planned for Ruby Hill, Vintage Hills (June 10, 2005)

At last, homeowners can buy groceries, gas nearby
by Jeb Bing

Residents in the growing Vineyard Corridor and Ruby Hill will soon be able to buy groceries, gasoline and even dine out without having to drive to other parts of Pleasanton or Livermore.

Sim and Yoon, a development company, has purchased the nearly empty Vintage Hills Shopping Center at the intersection of Tawny Drive and Bernal and Vineyard Avenues. Al Sim, a partner in the company, said he has leases and potential leases for a new Japanese restaurant, a delicatessen, custom ice cream store, and dance and music academies.

The popular Vintage Hills Cleaners and the Cut Co hair care company, the only surviving businesses in a shopping center that started shutting down years ago, are expected to sign new leases and stay in the center.

Meanwhile, at Vineyard Avenue and Isabel, Signature Properties is completing work on the first of several buildings at the southeast corner. Called Ruby Hill Center, the two-story building nearing completion will offer 16,650 square feet of retail space and another 6,050 square feet for offices.

Jim Ghielmetti, Signature's CEO, said Campo di Bocce, a favorite for food and fun in Los Gatos, will open a new restaurant in a 14,000-square-foot facility his company will build shortly. Along with that addition, the developer also will build a gas station and country store at the corner, once a brand-name dealer and market signs a lease.

The food and other retail services will end more than a decade of closed shops and grocery stores for the Vintage Hills Center and years of delays in obtaining approvals for the Ruby Hill Center. Since Romley's closed its grocery store in Vintage Hills, shoppers there have had to drive downtown, with many in Ruby Hill choosing to shop in Livermore instead.

"I can't promise a Safeway, which needs more space than we can offer, but I am searching for a quality grocery store that will serve the area," Sim said. "I have had proposals from stores that want to sell alcoholic beverages, but that would not be a good fit for this center." The history

The Vintage Hills Center started losing retailers after Romley's closed. Its far-flung U.S. and Taiwan-based owners tried to sell the 5-acre center, but their reported $5 million and $7 million price-tag drew no offers. Last year, local investor James Tong bought the property with the intent to tear down the commercial buildings and build two- and three-story apartments and condominiums. Although no firm proposal was submitted to city officials, both planners and members of the City Council indicated they would not approve switching the center from retail to residential.

Tong recently sold his interests in the property to Sim and Yoon for an undisclosed price.

Sim said that one of the problems he faces is that the Vintage Hills community has seen the center nearly empty for so long that they've forgotten about it. New businesses, which he said will start opening later this summer, will need to market their services aggressively to attract customers from a population area that has increased significantly since Romley's last operated there.

Ghielmetti said the planned small country market, to be built in conjunction with the gas station, will provide Ruby Hill residents with a chance to buy some groceries close by, as well as other services that have never been available near that community. Although located in Livermore, just across the city limits, the new retail center will serve both Ruby Hill and those who live in the 187 new homes under construction or planned for the Vineyard Corridor.

Campo di Bocce is expected to be a citywide attraction. Offering what restaurant critics have described as some of the best Italian food in Silicon Valley, the restaurant also includes world-class bocce courts for those who play the traditional centuries-old Italian game.

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