Walgreen’s move on hold

The businesses located in that center include Mazatlan Restaurant, Thai Lily Restaurant, Donuts Plus, Suki Dry Cleaners, Ginzaya Sushi, and The Wine Cellar. Westside Music Store just relocated to a space further west on Cornell.

In August, we reported that the east end of the shopping center at the southwest corner of Murray and Cornell had been purchased by Walgreens from the previous owner, Tandem Properties.

Some of the tenants reported that they were told “by someone” before the sale not to worry about renewing their leases, so several tenants’ leases have expired. Some were also reportedly told that they didn’t need to pay rent after the sale, and they didn’t receive new rent notices for several months afterwards. But at least one tenant has four years of options left in their lease.

It was rumored that Walgreen’s would be taking over the building and moving in as early as next spring.

Seven Hills Property Management, a San Francisco development company, has been advising Walgreens about its development plans. Jon Hill, a spokesperson for Seven Hills, recently told us that the project is now on hold until “they get the tenants sorted out. There are some leases that need to burn off,” he said. But he also says that the situation is fluid and could change at any time.

Hill noted that Walgreens hopes to renovate the existing building rather than tear it down and build new. This is presumably to avoid having to adhere to the county’s Town Center ordinances, calling for sidewalk-oriented retail and other requirements when property is redeveloped.

Hill says that while Seven Hills is currently acting in an advisory capacity for the project, they “hope that Walgreens will invite us back to do the development and property management.”

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