Tracy to buy problem-plagued market as part of downtown revamp effort | Recordnet.com

Tracy to buy problem-plagued market as part of downtown revamp effort | Recordnet.com

Tracy to buy problem-plagued market as part of downtown revamp effort
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Downtown business owners say that Westside Market on Central Avenue in downtown Tracy tends to attract drunks, transients and unwanted characters.
CLIFFORD OTO/The Record

By Jennie Rodriguez
Record Staff Writer
June 10, 2011 12:00 AM
TRACY - Tracy officials are still working to revamp downtown and enhance its quaint feel of small shops, entertainment venues and restaurants.

City Hall has put revitalization dollars into projects such as the Grand Theatre. Elected leaders have supported the formation of a downtown business district. And a more concerted effort by the Police Department has addressed complaints of nuisances.

The latest move: the acquisition of a building that houses the West Side Market, a store that neighboring merchants say has contributed to central Tracy problems.

Downtown business owners say that although the owner, Fahd Olomari, has been working to remove loitering, the store at 741 Central Ave. still tends to attract drunks, transients and unwanted characters. It is on the same block as the Grand Theatre.

"It's kind of sad that the store is going to close down," said Cinthia Hurisinger-Rueda, owner of Platinum One Realty and Mortgage. "But it's going to get all the riffraff out."

On Tuesday, the Tracy City Council approved a purchase and sale agreement to obtain the 11,017-square-foot building for $650,000 after a series of negotiations between Fahd and the city.

City Manager Leon Churchill said the market was deemed blight for redevelopment purposes. West Side Market was either directly or indirectly linked to nuisance issues, Churchill said, and on some occasions, criminal activities.

He said there are no specific plans for the building, but the city is looking at potentially attracting a restaurant or bar.

Churchill said, according to staff research, many residents still go out of town for those establishments.

"We need to keep those consumers home," he said. Money to purchase the building will come from tax increment financing.

The city plans to sell the structure once it has been renovated.

Fahd declined to comment on the sale, and on the opinions that his business attracts an unsavory element.

His neighbors feel the city is moving in the right direction.

"Personally, I think it's a change for downtown to try to get better," said Shawn Perry, owner of The Great Plate, a bar and grill across the street. "I like the store owner, but it does bring a bad element."

Perry believes the store might be better suited in another location.

Hurisinger-Rueda said she would like to see the space used for a restaurant or another type of business more beneficial to families.

"We're hoping to get more people into downtown," she said.

Contact reporter Jennie Rodriguez at (209) 943-8564 or jrodriguez@recordnet.com.