Mayor Hopeful For Deal In Curtis Park Village Dispute Over Proposed Safeway
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A controversial project in Sacramento has taken another turn as the battle over a shopping center continues to rage.
A spokesman for Mayor Kevin Johnson's office has said the mayor plans to reach out to Safeway to see whether the company would be amenable to adding a store to what was once called the Curtis Park Village project.
The land is between the communities of Curtis Park and Oak Park and right across from Sacramento City College.
The plan for a Safeway with a gas station appeared dead in the water after the Sacramento City Council rejected a proposal for the store including a gas station. Much of the proposed development in the area had been transit-oriented and residents were concerned about the increase in the number of vehicles at the proposed gas station with people coming into the area to use Safeway gas rewards.
Developer Paul Petrovich said Safeway was adamant that they would not consider the location without the gas station. After the proposal was rejected, Petrovich floated the idea of replacing the Safeway with a grocery outlet and a Dollar Store and renamed the proposal to the Crocker Village Shopping Center. That plan was seen by many as a threat to cut into the value nearby homes.
On Friday, it appeared there was hope for the project moving forward without the proposed gas station in 2016. On Monday, Johnson's office said there's nothing on the agenda for the Sacramento City Council, but that the mayor continues to work toward a solution to keep the deal alive.
"Last month the Mayor pledged to reach out to Safeway to see if they would open a store at Curtis Park Village without a fuel station. While it would be premature to say there have been any agreements, the Mayor continues to work towards a win-win solution, which would bring 200 jobs to the community," his spokesman Ben Sosenko emailed.
Pastor Larry Meeks, a prominent Oak Park community leader, says Safeway committed in writing to fill high-paying union positions with residents from Oak Park, an area of Sacramento struggling with some of the worst unemployment in the city.
"These jobs from Safeway would make a huge difference to people in Oak Park, and families and homes and if there is a solution to all of our social problems in America it's jobs," he said. "The mayor has promised to work his tail off to make this happen."
The project is part of the second-largest infill section in Sacramento. The largest, the railyards on the northern end of Sacramento, will be filled partly by a Kaiser Permanente facility that will replace a hospital on Morse Avenue in Sacramento County. A proposed Sacramento Republic soccer stadium would also fill part of the site as the team attempts to join Major League Soccer.
