SAN DIEGO — Abandoned Buildings and empty storefronts. CBS 8 is Working for You to find out what’s going on at a San Carlos shopping center.
Located at the San Carlos Village shopping center, there’s a nail salon, a gym, a couple of banks, an Aldi, and more.
The parking lot is busy. But a closed down Carl’s Jr. with a deteriorating sign and a huge two-story building that was an Orchard Supply Hardware store until it closed down in 2019 doesn’t sit well with neighbors.
“This is a great neighborhood. My son lives right around the corner and he shops at Aldi all the time. We just can't believe things come in and go out so fast. Either they're charging too much money or something's wrong," a woman told CBS 8.
Another shopper said, “The government is printing money. The economy is just coasting along. They think everything's fine but it's not. These empty stores are signs of that.”
Another woman said, “It feels like the economy is going to pot.”
This morning we called Chad R. Iafrate with Cushman and Wakefield Commercial Real Estate, the company that leases these buildings.
He told us Lowe’s Home Improvement is in a long-term lease for the building where the former Orchard Supply Hardware was.
Iafrate said his company has tried to get Lowe’s to do an end-of-lease deal so they can get someone else in that space but Lowe’s never responds to his requests.
CBS 8 started calling and emailing Lowe’s corporate office in North Carolina early this morning. No one has responded.
As for the empty building where Carl’s Jr. used to be, lafrate told me a national chain was moving in the 2nd quarter of 2024.
After searching the city’s Development Services Department website to check for permit applications for buildings, we found a liquor license application for Chipotle.
And that’s exactly what a couple of people I spoke with outside said they’d love to see there. For now, we will keep calling Lowe’s to see if they can help make its former hardware store, less of an eyesore.
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
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