Photograph by George Sakkestad
The Sunnyvale City Council approved renovations for Dick's Market on Jan. 14.
By LESTER CHANG
A new facelift for Dick's Lakewood Shopping Center was approved by the Sunnyvale City Council, a key step that the complex owner and city officials say could help bring more businesses into the area.
"We are full of tenants at the shopping center, but it could mean more business coming into here," said Gene Yee, president of Dick's Lakewood Corporation, after the the Jan. 14 council meeting.
How well the project goes could help determine whether more businesses, including large commercial stores, move into North Sunnyvale, city officials said. The city is currently is looking at ways to accomplish that goal.
The remodeling at Dick's Shopping Center involves the construction of four new towers on the east side of the buildings, the installation of concrete columns to support the roof, the placement of planters and the planting of trees and flowers.
The owners also plan to paint the west side of the complex, repair a sound wall that abuts homes in the Lakewood Village area and put speed bumps and signs to stop motorists from speeding on the property.
The owners also have agreed to properly maintain the buildings, the parking lot and landscaping. The lack of maintenance at the shopping center, which sits on 6.4 acres and has 160,000 square feet of commercial space, has been a sore point with community residents in past years.
The city, which will enforce the maintenance agreement, could levy fines if violations are severe, city officials said.
Fred Fowler, president of the Lakewood Village Neighborhood Association, said the plans will turn the shopping center into a business venture the community could be proud of.
"The neighborhood is very happy," he said. "My wife says it [Dick's] has the best egg prices in town. That is one reason to shop there," he quipped.
The Sunnyvale City Planning Commission approved the plans on Nov. 25, 1996.
Nick Wright, a resident of Lakewood Village, said the facelift was not enough and that new types of businesses might have to move in.
He said current businesses may have to offer new products and services to encourage people to shop at the center.
"People shop elsewhere in Sunnyvale because they can't find what they want here," he said after the meeting. "I would like to see their money stay in the community."
Businesses at the shopping center includes a video store, a Chinese restaurant, a dental office, and a dry cleaner's.
Bob Collins, a resident of Sunnyvale, said the renovation work will not help make the center successful and suggested the remodeling work be scrapped, possibly in favor of another type of development.
Some residents have suggested putting homes on the site, although it isn't something the city has considered, said David Vossbrink, the city's community relations officer.
Judy Gauthier, another Lakewood Village resident, threw her support behind the project. "Dick's has been nothing but a good neighbor," she said.
"There are a lot of somebodies who don't want this scrapped. I wanted a facelift before, and he has done it before," Gauthier added.
Councilman Jack Walker said that it would be pointless to wait for another type of development to move onto the shopping center site and suggested the renovation could encourage the location of big and small businesses in North Sunnyvale that could benefit residents.
"We have got to do something to help out, and this is a project that could," he said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 22, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.