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I got word down the grape vine earlier this week that the Metro owned property on the corner of 1st and Boyle will officially become the new site for the :First Street Plaza.” It’s funny because with all this talk of gentrification, the plaza, where the laundry mat use to be, will now be the site for a brand new Denny’s Restaurant and a Starbucks. In the past, the site was a prime location when they were trying to bring in a Barns and Nobles, but community peeps made their voices heard and stopped that project from going any further. So where was everyone one this one ? I never thought it was going to officially go through because I thought the same people and groups would have made their voices heard, but they didn’t.
Home boy that clued me in to the deal going down said that it’s official like a referee with a whistle now, it’s too late. The project is slated to cost close to a million clams, maybe more because there is currently nothing on that lot except dirt, so they are going to build and an entirely new “green building”. Besides having a Denny’s and Starbucks, they’re in talks with having a pink berry/yogurt land to come in as well. They figured that with the success of the shops in Little Tokyo off Central and 2nd, 1st and Boyle would be prime locations to bring in “variety” to the community. And of course, it’s goldline adjacent for anyone to just hop on the train and stop by. I still can’t believe Boyle Heights residents fell asleep at the wheel and we let this deal go down like Walgreens. Chale.
somehow it doesn’t make sense since there is an rfp out for the site through the CRA. good april fools post.
Really?? I remember talking to some elacc peeps a while ago and they had said that they were building housing on 1st and boyle and 1st and soto where the dirt lots are…? They were even asking people to sign up to be put on the wait list… Yeah, sometimes these things work out and sometimes they don’t…. The building they set up at the wilshire and western purple line station is a total waste land… empty shop after empty shop and a grip of unsold condos…
Oyes, Read the article, “Public Housing Residents of Boyle Heights…” on 3/30/11, http://www.scpr.org. Jose Huizar says: “The next stage for Boyle Heights needs to be more private investment, more retail and improving every commercial corridor that we have.†—
my security word was PIPI
so im gonna have a dog throw some PIPI on this perhaps it is a April Fools joke?
I mean are they gonna construct the Denny’s and Starbucks on the second floor because the ground floor will be for a laundromat que no?
i mean isnt the laundrymat a primary need?
you can’t go to Denny’s or Starbucks with unwashed- dirty smelly clothes
uggh que asco really seriously.
And i agree with Lizzy Poo about Wilshire/Western total fail! and its the Solair “luxury” condos lol please make the bottom retail floors into an indoor swapmeet lol
it is interesting to note that just down Wilshire at Vermont also a metro purple line station that development is a success- maybe cause the situation there is rentals for rent not for sale.
🙁
I really wish that we DID have a Barnes and Noble in Boyle Heights, why shouldn’t a book store be in our community? that was a LAME move by alleged “activists” to “stop” gentrification. Denying literature to our youth and community was not smart, not to mention the jobs that it would have brought. I for one, am tired of having to drive to Pasadena and La Puente to find a decent book store. Sadly, B&N is closing its doors nationwide because people don’t buy books anymore and that would have been an unforeseen impact in BH. But now, a Denny’s?! UGH. I’m not a fan of chain restaurants w/ $15 BLT’s and that would be the only reason why I would like to see something else. As far as the Starbucks, I say bring it. No one here should lie about kicking it at the Starbucks right by East LA College while ordering a Venti Vanilla Mocha Frap light on whip. I’m also a fan of family owned coffee shops with a community focus (Antiguas), that’s cool too! And again, there is NO REASON why we should continue to give our tax dollars to Monterrey Park (at the Starbucks, Walgreens and CVS!) how are they investing in East Los’ & BH community? They’re not, but they gladly want our business. Let’s be smart, we need business to offer our community and youth JOBS. So instead of complaining, let’s work with the city and businesses to bring in companies that will directly and positively impact our neighborhoods.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only real way to fight the colonization of communities by the heralds of foul food and bad business practices is to start your own damn coffee shop or greasy spoon or whatever, and out quality and loyalty them.
San Pedro used to have two Denny’s, and they both went out of business. I don’t think it was poor business climate that killed them, it was that there were better places to get decent eggs and sandwiches and coffee in town, and the community never stopped eating at them. Starbucks pulled a store about five minutes after opening it from Downtown Pedro when they realized that Sacred Grounds, Mishi’s and Nosh had the love and dollars of the locals.
While B&N is not my favorite bookstore – if we could have gotten one in Rosemead (in the suburbs!) when I was younger, I would have been elated. It was freaking book desert. For a while, Pico Rivera had a Borders, but it closed down. The only bookstores around are Christian bookstores and a few Chinese bookstores.
If activists opposed B&N – you are idiots. There are college grads in the west SGV who circulate petitions begging book chains to establish a store in those suburbs. These companies probably consider immigrant communities to be high-risk markets, and non-reading populations.
Anyway… the book era’s kind of over anyways. People read on the computer. What communities need is cheaper internet options and affordable computer shops and service.
PS – there’s a Denny’s that opened up in East LA. There were probably a lot of people driving to the one in Montebello to have breakfast. The cooks on the b’fast shift there are good.
Ya’ll know this is a joke right ? Cause of April fools ? That space is gonna be affordable housing through East LA Community Corporation or a possible super market space. Take a chill pill folks 😀
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