tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931942690068259127.post2076736821057346105..comments2024-01-12T07:25:33.861-08:00Comments on Bakersfield Observed: Bakersfield Commons: is the huge development at Coffee and Brimhall about to become reality?RichardBeenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12542559942096218256noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931942690068259127.post-24385264057058291602010-05-18T15:52:15.342-07:002010-05-18T15:52:15.342-07:00so when is world oil going to atleast clean up the...so when is world oil going to atleast clean up the eye sore of the old pg&e substation?<br />that by itself would be an improvement on that<br />corner!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6931942690068259127.post-27929505121373299032009-09-24T20:01:28.043-07:002009-09-24T20:01:28.043-07:00Nice pictures, but now it's time to deal with ...Nice pictures, but now it's time to deal with reality. It's good to look into the future, but right now we have existing and available retail spaces, with exiting taxpayer-funded infrastructure, that were built to handle retail uses. Bakersfield simply has too much empty retail space. I know the Commons developers are talking 20 years out, but let's do something new and exciting right now, like filling up what we already have before we go out and build new stuff that tends to drain the older retail centers. We have lots of retail blight. Look around: How about filling up one of our regional malls that has three anchor spaces--all of them empty. How about filling up the empty stores that retailers like Vons and now CVS leave around town as they merge and relocate, leaving nearby retailers to suffer with fewer customers, and neighbors to deal with graffiti and unkempt properties? The Commons people say good things, but Macy's? Penneys? They would open new locations so close to their present ones in Valley Plaza? Even 20 years out that seems questionable. Also keep in mind that Bakersfield is primarily a mid- to lower-income kind of place. Keep a watch on Kohls and how they are handling vacated Mervyns sites around California. Ready-made stores in the middle of existing retail centers, rather than out in the outskirts of cities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com