BUENA PARK : City Forces 2 Firms to Leave Old Center

The city on Monday used its power of eminent domain to force two businesses from an old shopping center targeted for redevelopment.

The City Council, acting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, unanimously approved the move, which will close down the Outpost, a cocktail lounge, and Paesano’s New York Pizza and Subs.

The businesses were the last two tenants remaining at the 11-acre shopping center at the northeast corner of Lincoln and Valley View streets.

“It’s a losing battle,” said Marilyn Gabriel, owner of the Outpost, who established her business at the center 14 years ago. “Both of us have tried to relocate, but it’s impossible.”

May Hui, assistant director of development services-economic development, said that of 12 tenants at the center, eight have relocated and two went out of business.

The tenants were given 90-day notices to move last October but the two remaining tenants did not accept the agency’s offers to relocate them and to buy their fixtures and equipment, Hui said.

Hui said an independent appraiser was hired to appraise fixtures and equipment. The agency also has assisted tenants in finding new sites and is reimbursing them for relocation costs.

Both Gabriel and Mark Cordaro, owner of the pizza restaurant, said that the agency’s offer to buy fixtures and equipment was not fair market value.

Gabriel is among five tenants who recently filed a lawsuit against the agency seeking more compensation.

The two business owners said they are making an effort to find new locations but can’t find suitable places.

“We’re having difficulty with the sites in the area because of the increase rents,” said Cordaro, whose pizza restaurant has been located in the center for five years. “Rents are not comparable to what we are currently paying for space here.”

Gabriel also said it has been difficult to find a new location in the area.

“We have many letters of rejection. We’ve looked and looked,” she said. “You just can’t locate a food or drink business as easy as you can a shoe store or beauty salon.”

Hui said the agency plans to sell 4.5 acres of the center to American Stores Properties Inc. for $4.8 million. Under the terms of the sales agreement, all the tenants must leave the center.

The corporation, which owns the Sav-on drug store on the property, plans to develop a new shopping center. The cost of the redevelopment project for the agency is about $2.5 million, which includes relocation of tenants, demolition, asbestos removal, public improvements and legal expenses.

The new shopping center, expected to generate $295,000 a year from sales and property taxes, will include a 100,000-square-foot Lucky supermarket and Sav-on store and 10,000 square feet for additional retail tenants. Pic ‘N’ Save, owned by PNS Stores Inc., will be remodeled.