~ This letter was posted by Alpine resident Lou Russo ~
“Mr. Russo,
Mr. Saldano informed me hat you had some questions regarding the Victoria Village Plaza project. I thought it may be best for me to respond directly to your questions and concerns. As you are aware, the project “Victoria Village Plaza” was approved on May 2, 2012 by the County of San Diego (it was also presented to the Board of Supervisors). This approval was based on the project as a whole which consisted of a mixed use building (retail/office/and residential). As a property owner, we simply provide a shell building for the tenant, and its the tenant’s responsibility to construct floor plans and receive proper permits.
As of now, there has been many people interested in leasing space in the Plaza (which is a great sign). Some of those tenants include various restaurants, retail services, and 7-11. In fact 7-11 is one of the first to agree to move forward with this site. The County will separately process each tenant’s plan. In fact, the APG may even weigh in on some of the tenants plans, if they are required to get any approval. In this case, since 7-11s plans include an ABC license, therefore the APG will be included.
I personally did not know that any plans were submitted or they were on the agenda for the AGP. I guess that is a good sign that they are moving forward, I will definitely will get updated on their status as well. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to discuss the details of this project.
Best Regards,
Brian Garmo
Brian A. Garmo, ESQ
GC Properties
You never have to fear about the price as lots of
of the organizations are supplying inexpensive search engine optimization services at relatively small cost ranges.
By signing up for these listings, your content articles will be brought up a lot more typically.
Here is my page … bangkok seo
Here is an interesting article about a 7-11 in la Mesa that was just forwarded to me by an Alpine Resident
http://lamesa.patch.com/blog_posts/7-eleven-not-heaven-for-this-la-mesa-neighborhood
If you think about it, why not a 7/11? you have the Alpine Inn not even seemingly opened half the time…two vacant ugly lots…just sitting there now I am sure the business will be compliant with the theme of the Country look of Alpine. I like having a place to shop all night for aspirins, food if i want it. and livens’ up the place a bit at night…It will bring more revenue and retail to that area. I’ve gone through many towns and wished for a 7/11 to be there out in the boonies and for vacationers traveling through why not? It is not going to ruin the charm of Alpine in any way….Lots of opportuniites for new businesses and more tax revenue for Alpine…They aren’t a ‘liquor store’…I am sure as with McDonalds they will look nice and blend in with the woodsie rock design on most of the places up there …I think that those complaining will find that in the end they are glad that the 7/11 was built I doubt it’s going to be the same design you see around town in other counties…When you add a high school up in Alpine it will increase the value of this area…as it confines those to this area instead of having to go clear to El Cajon to school….and therefore makes it more of a private town…THink about it
Alpine has a reputation of swelling up in opposition against new businesses that try to come here. I’m not thrilled at the idea of a 7-11 either, but let’s be careful we don’t turn in to a ghost town. We already have empty buildings all up and down Alpine Blvd. And with this bad economy, I don’t see much hope in attracting the Mom and Pop businesses some of you suggest. Even the Pet store is trying to sell. Big corporate businesses may be the only ones with the money and lawyers to fight through trying to come here. I agree a 7-11 would not be good, but is the fenced off pile of rubble a better choice? If we are successful in getting rid of them, is there another business willing to go through the fight?
One angle that puzzles me. You have a business leaseholder getting set to open a retail location. The town swells up in outrage over the very thought; so much so that it becomes a planning group topic.
It appears that there is signigicant, heart-felt opposition to this happening.
As the owner of a different retail business in Alpine, I cannot imagine going ahead with spending a million bucks to invest in a community that will hate my presence.
Maybe another Starbucks. We only have one.
(Just kidding)
No really, these people MUST be aware they are investing in a huge uphill battle.
They have been closed for a few months now. I have been told that when the ownership changed hands, they had failed to properly transfer the liquor license or pay some fees…they are in the process of fixing it and hope to be back open soon.
When did the Alpine Inn close?
We could use a REAL bakery. The original Alpine Bakery did a booming business (created our wedding cake 30 years ago). They served coffee, newspapers and was a real place for locals to gather and gossip!! The only place we have here to buy a birthday cake is a frozen/thawed cake from Albertsons. Janet’s has great pies but isn’t a true gathering spot for locals, it’s a profitable place for tourists but we need a local’s place. Jimmy’s hasn’t done one iota of marketing and we have no idea what they serve. Why no ads or flyers or big bang grand opening? The curtains make it look unfriendly.
The Alpine Inn, a legend and destination is boarded up. How long will it sit vacant? Breaks my heart.
The blight of dirt strips through the middle of town is worse than just pavement. Now locals are having to scare up $$ to landscape and water if plants are installed. We hate the islands that make trans versing the blvd a pain.
We were initially told the plan was to make us look like Julian, that clearly is not happening. A 7-11 is the last thing we need. Put in a pie shop/bakery like those that line the streets of Julian that attracts tourists and locals alike.
Just my opinions. What’s yours?
Did anyone attend the ACPG Meeting last night? I couldn’t go and i would love to hear what happened! I need some Alpine resident reporters feedback!LOL!
Having attended the meeting tonight, I find myself torn. On the one hand I absolutely do not want to have a 7-11 in the core of our town. But on the other hand, I want to see our town thrive. And after really looking at the Boulevard following this meeting, its clear that our town center is dying.
In the town center we have a huge vacant lot beside a liquor store, across from a huge vacant lot filled with rubble. Beside these lots we have an empty office building, across the street from an empty restaurant. Jimmy’s is still finding its soul and has a few years to prove whether they can survive. The chiq boutique is our only major culteral offering. I love that little place but it isn’t going to draw hundreds of visitors on a weekend. We need to do better. We need to swallow our complaints and work on solutions. Angry opposition holds little influence. A positive outcome will occur only if we produce it.
At this point in time we need to help a developer in such a way that they will revitalize our community. We need seeds in the ground and each of us needs to work on supporting new growth. This developer will either help the community grow, or default on the land and leave us with blight. He needs to know that he will have an anchor tenant which will produce a reliable income. 7-11 is his ray of hope. If we oppose it, then we need to find an alternative. The only thing I oppose more than having a 7-11 there, is to have to look at that pile of rubble for years to come. If we can bring traffic to that corner, then perhaps signs of life will return to the neighboring buildings.
So what are we going to do about it? If we can help him find a suitable replacement then I get the sense that he’d try to work with us. We can oppose the liquor license to help the lease dissolve, but we need to give him something else to encourage him to build. Who will it be? Can we convince Fred’s to relocate? Perhaps move the Farmers Market down here? Convince the brewer to move? Relocate the dance studio? The donut shop? The bar-b-que? I can’t see any of that happening? Who else do we have?
I propose a new discourse. Let us actively focus on finding new businesses for our little town. If we don’t find a better tenant for that space, then a 7-11 is probably the best outcome. Do we prefer a dirt lot and a blight that will lower our property values; or do we accept a corner 7-11 that will encourage retail space to potentially spark a rebirth?
I want to see renderings of the new development. If the developer has made an effort to keep the architecture tasteful and help make the 7-11 discreet, then I think I may change my mind. I’d rather put up with the insulting 7-11 for the sake of attracting more desirable businesses, than watch our boulevard dry up completely. We need to face the facts. People will drive downtown for a good restaurant, but they won’t drive up here until we’ve made something of ourselves. We seem to have a vast capacity for salons and mexican food but surely we are approaching saturation. How else are we going to revitalize our town center? I fear an opposition to the 7-11 without an alternative for the developer, may be the final nail in our coffin.
What business could be started in the town center, on a shoe string budget, that everyone in town would support? What could be setup in the now empty SCAIR building that would attract so much business, that this developer would take the risk of building more retail space without his ugly anchor tenant? What would bring us, the local community, in to town every weekend for recreation or entertainment?
Do we need to bring back the dinosaurs?
Alpine does not need another retail type store like 7/11 or anything similar. There is plenty of liquor and beer available at many other locations, plus they offer nothing that other established stores don’t carry. All a store like this does is take dollars away from an existing store that has went thru the bad times with the SDGE project, the worst economy in 60 years and is just hanging on by their fingertips. On Alpine Blvd. a number of small operators of different stores have closed up already.
With the building of the Albertson shopping center and now a McDonalds, Alpine has just about lost its old country town feeling. How quickly we forget that Daniels Market fell victim to the BIG BOX store and after many years in the community, they had to close. Small retailers cannot compete against the Big Guys, they don’t have the buying power. So they close only to be replaced by the big retail stores. Before too long Alpine Blvd will look like 2nd Ave in El Cajon.
Alpine is a special place with a great history that is being chipped away by overbuilding and commercialization. Now a land owner who cares nothing about Alpine brings in whoever he can to fill the space. He owns a lot of retail property in Alpine,(Alpine Inn- The Village Shopping Center with the Dollar Store and the Shell Station/Car Wash) but doesn’t even live here. He tore down one of the few remaining adobe buildings that went back almost a 100 years so he can put in another retail outlet.If Mr.Garmo cared about the community more than the dollar he would have rebuilt his old place and kept the historic value that it had and still could have had a major tenant in it.
I and many others moved here to get away from it all and have the feeling of not being in a city. No one in the local government seems to care about what Alpine was and should remain. The weekend tourist have all but been eliminated by the construction. We need more small shops that can generate a need to visit Alpine. Who’s going to come to Alpine to visit a 7/11?
I am opposed to a 7/11 in Alpine. We have more than enough liquor/convenience stores. Alpine’s downtown area should reflect the special character of our community,with businesses that would encourage both residents and visitors alike to want to shop in Alpine and support our local merchants.
What happened to the charm? Power f&$king link McDonald’s 99 cent store businesses Gone.. street and landscaping changes? All the promises Gone. I miss Alpine. Change is good and we expect it, but leave our town with the quaint charm alpine is known for.
The problem is that we already have two liquor stores in the area and a 7/11 is simply unnecessary. That space could be put to much better use and help make that intersection more inviting. I would actually rather replace one of the current liquor stores with a 7/11; some shady people seem to hang out at those two liquor stores.
Christopher, your ideas for an idyllic 1950′s style Alpine sound very romantic, but unfortunately all of that has to be funded. An art gallery would never stay in business and a high end camping store in this economy? I suspect the Walmart down the road would put most of those “high end” shops you dream of out of business. Still, it was fun to read your ideas, although I’m not a fan of bicyclists. BTW, what is carb gel?
Many communities establish their roots and identity around a central element or place in town. This place becomes the heart and soul of the community. As this core place changes, so does the community. If that place is a well maintained town square, a central park or thriving independent business district the community reflects that image. If that place is a run-down mish-mash of outlets that attract a bad element of society to the town core, well, the community will reflect that too. When was the last time you “hung out” an all-night alcohol & tobacco merchant? Is this the identity we want for our town? Is this where we want our kids to hang out? We don’t think so.
Alpine’s town core has long been neglected. The little park site at the 5-way intersection is a mess. The above ground utility boxes in front of the Alpine Women’s Club are an unsightly insult to that lovely historic building. We can and should do better. We should make the town core an attractive and inviting place. It should be a place that defines Alpine as a wonderful, lovely, charming, vibrant, safe, desirable community where people want to go to escape the stress and problems that plague high density urban communities.
The Alpine Design Review board is working on a Form Based Code that will update the 25-year old Alpine Design Review Guidelines. When complete this will form a basis for developing a beautiful, coherent, and vibrant town center. The two new buildings proposed in the town center have the potential to redefine Alpine in a positive way and lead the way to cleaning up and revitalizing the center of our community. CHIRP for Garden Wildlife, Inc. is leading a community effort to beautify the town core with Gardens on the Boulevard. Let’s not waste this opportunity by allowing a 7-11 Convenience store to define our community and destroy our character. We can do better. We owe it to ourselves and our future to do better. Please sign the petition, available on the Alpine Community Network, opposing this assault on our town.
Oh, my girls & I haven’t been wondering what that is that they are building. It doesn’t look big enough to be a McDonald’s. I wish it wasn’t so close to where I live. I can already see my girls constantly asking to go there. I like that we don’t have too many fast food places in Alpine.
The McDonalds is being built AS WE SPEAK in the Parking lot of Albertsons
here in Alpine. Where the Recycling center used to be.
Angela Brookshire – Director
Alpine’s “Citizen of the Year” 2011-2012
(619) 993-4234
Angie@AlpineCommunityNetwork.com
Stay Connected With Your Community!
Join The Network!
http://www.AlpineCommunityNetwork.com
@ Julio, where & when is the McDonald’s coming?
I strongly oppose the 7/11. People that want the complete convenience and high growth of an urban community should consider moving closer to San Diego. A third liquor store is totally unnecessary for a community the size of Alpine. The location of the proposed 7/11 could be put any number of better uses. We have already sacrificed much of our rural character but I do not feel that we should throw in the towel and become an extension of El Cajon.
NO on 7/11. We have a Circle K, two liquor stores, gas stations with 7/11 type merchandise all within walking distance of each other. How about a Trader Joes? or a patio style Farmers market bistro with umbrella seating and a coffee house and shops? Can’t we try to preserve the quaintness and village atmosphere by NOT building stores that carry the same products as ones that are already along the Blvd.. NO ON 7/11! Petition signatures? Please post if there is one or where to write letters against building another liquor/sundry store! NO ON 7/11.
For me it’s just I don’t think another liquor store is really necessary. Almost like having another Mexican food place. I don’t support it for that reason.
I agree Kim. I am so tired of Alpiners having a fit every time a new business comes to town. SDG&E did damage to or destroyed several of Alpine’s businesses. We should be happy that there are people willing to bring new businesses to our town.
If I wanted to live in El Cajon, I’d move there.
A Jack in the Box @ Albertsons is bad enough, now a 7-11?? I’ve lived here for 30+ years. How far east do I have to move for tranquility that used to define Alpine?
A 7-11…well, a neighbor of mine owns 2 of them. He said if he ever heard that one was going in near his home, he would do everything in his power to stop it. He himself told me they are scum-magnets and you don’t want one near you; it’s only downhill from there.
Personally, I have a problem with yet another liquor outlet, not so much that it’s a 7-11.
I agree, Kim. Alpine sold out when Albertsons/Rite Aid/CVS came in. And another liquor source? We’re so over the ‘approved limit’ of liquor licenses now … how will one more matter?
I guess those of us who want the old Alpine back will need to move to Pine Valley …
Our son lives very close to the proposed 7-11 site. He’d probably like the convenience, although, I really can’t speak for him. The traffic could be an issue, though. Would like to hear more about how that would be addressed.
Growth is good if it is properly guided.
Alpine is a rare place within San Diego county because it is not an overgrown suburb. The reason why I live here is because the town is small and unique. I love the spirit and heart of this town and its very important that we keep it that way.
The heart of Alpine should offer small town culture. We don’t need regular stores downtown. We need an art gallery, a bakery, and a non-starbucks sidewalk cafe beside a small bookstore (that is open, and stocks a wide range of books). We need the bicycle shop, the Harley shop, and the local Jeweler. We need a combination froyo/smoothie shop with a local twist, perhaps offering flavors using plants that grow here naturally (sage, oak meal, wild cucumber). We need the Chique Boutique, a music store, and the true-value hardware. We need the 76 Gas Station to offer full service, where young clean-cut people run out to fill your tank, wash your window, and check your oil. All of these little unique shops like Janets and Jennifers are what I love about this town. Alpine can grow in a good way. Alpine can offer many of the services that the local residents need. And Alpine can also offer San Diego the wonderful small town experience that can be found almost no-where else.
Let’s be a high-end small town with really cool shops that can be found no-where else. And let’s accomplish that, by ensuring the heart of our town never see’s any of the chain/franchise stores found everywhere else in San Diego. If you want to build a 7-11 then do so up next to the old Marietta’s. Just not here. Not in our town center.
You know…while I don’t drink beer, I think the Alpine Brewery is one of the coolest shops in our little town. I would love to see them expand to take over that entire retail complex. If they can’t, then perhaps they would be one of the ideal tenants for this location. Give them a nice big parking lot in the back with their restaurant in the front. They attract a lot of people from the valley. The brewery would help make downtown Alpine a destination from which people would end up exploring elsewhere on foot. That could be a great way to bring in more people for our local businesses.
There is also a huge untapped market with the nearby bicyclists. A bicycle friendly coffee shop with consumables for the cyclists (such a carb gel) could encourage them to make downtown Alpine a destination. Getting them to stop downtown would lead to massive exposure that would spread to the surrounding businesses.
And what of all of the traffic passing us to head to the mountains and desert? The Bread Basket convinced a fair amount of them to stop for breakfast. A small high-end camping store downtown would be a good way to attract more of that passing demographic.
Main Street Escondido is the closest example in San Diego of the type of small town that we need Alpine to remain. The outskirts of Escondido has grown to encompass almost every business imaginable, but downtown Escondido has all of the nice little shops that people look for on the weekends. Similarly; old-town Temecula.
A 7-11 in the heart of our town just isn’t the right move. We don’t need “a few more jobs”. We need businesses that will both bring the nearby residents in to town, as well as convince people to drive up the hill. We need to have people walking around our town, window shopping, sampling the local fares. We need people to stop downtown and spend time here. More people lingering will turn in to more profitable local businesses. A 7-11 is a quick-stop business, not a place to linger.
A 7-11 there just isn’t the right choice.
Folks, keeping Alpine a true rural community has been long lost. Albertsons, Rite Aid, CVS, a soon to be McDonalds, close in housing, concrete sidewalks, traffic signals, are a reality.
Dont know why people are upset about 7/11 coming to town, since
the battle was lost long ago.
Enjoy your slurpee and go on with your life without wasting time
on this issue.
Not so sure what the issue is. We have an Albertsons, a Fresh N Easy and McDonalds coming in. RiteAid, CVS and Circle K are here. We have various establishments that sell liquor already. I hardly think a 7-11 is going to bring in any more crime than all these other places. Besides, 7-11 has great coffee at great prices.
^ I agree. Another problem is all the recent home robberies. Instead of whining about a 7/11 coming in to town, of which 75% of us grew up with one nearby, why don’t we organize a more aggressive community watch group…just an idea
I don’t see what the problem is. Why are we against a 7/11 moving in? Rite Aid/CVS? Alpine is growing. Anything that brings a few more jobs is a good thing.
I think we have more important issues at hand.
Look at Tavern Rd when school lets out.
People fly through there with little room between their cars and children walking/biking home.
A high school for Alpine.
Punks tagging the area.