By Tanya Mannes\u00c2\u00a0
\n CHULA VISTA \u00e2\u20ac\u201c From herb-scented candles to hardwood
\n\t\t
\nchests, Michelle Larson’s furniture store offers thousands of luxury goods to outfit a home.<\/p>\n
If only more customers could find the store.
\nLarson and her husband, Michael, recently opened their store, Foliage, in the Eastlake Design District, a new, furniture-only shopping center. They liked the center’s focus on home decorating.<\/p>\n
But nearly a year after it opened, the shopping center isn’t getting the foot traffic it anticipated \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in part because of its out-of-the-way location. It sits high on a hill at Otay Lakes Road and Fenton Street, six miles and more than a dozen stoplights from the nearest freeway, Interstate 805.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We get calls every day from people on Telegraph Canyon Road who are sure they’ve missed it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Larson said.<\/p>\n
The district opened with a few stores Dec. 26 and held its grand-opening celebration in September with 16 stores, including Lane Home Furnishings, Ashley Furniture, Bassett Furniture Direct, Dunn-Edwards Paints, Patiosource and Caldera Spas.<\/p>\n
Many people still haven’t made the trip to see it.<\/p>\n
Michael Vogt of IRE Development, which built the center, believes that a few strategic changes will bring more customers up the hill.<\/p>\n
Last month, the City Council approved one of Vogt’s initiatives: temporary directional signs that will help motorists find the shopping center from the freeway.<\/p>\n
Those signs will be taken down once the South Bay Expressway \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a toll road that will be the southern extension of state Route 125 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c opens in June, bringing motorists directly to east Chula Vista.<\/p>\n
Vogt also wants to expand the variety of stores beyond the large furniture retailers to include a garden center, high-end home accessories such as Pier 1 Imports, and home electronics.<\/p>\n
He also hopes to add some sit-down restaurants to make the shopping center more of a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153destination,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. Two local businessmen are talking about opening restaurants in the design district, including a brew pub.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We’re finding that unless people have already decided they want to buy furniture, they’re not coming,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Vogt said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We need other reasons for people to come up here.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Recently, during a late weekday afternoon, fewer than two dozen cars were parked in the shopping center’s lot.<\/p>\n
One customer, Eli Kabban, was looking for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153something interesting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to furnish his Del Cerro home.<\/p>\n
Kabban said he was disappointed with the predominance of retail-chain furniture stores. He said expanding the mix to include other home-related businesses would be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153an excellent idea.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
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\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unfortunately, they haven’t attracted the small specialty shops that would have something a bit more interesting, more specialized,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kabban said.<\/p>\n
The Larsons took a risk in April by expanding from a much smaller Chula Vista store to their larger space in the Eastlake Design District. They have had some success with their stylish product mix \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ranging from a $4 coconut-lime-verbena candle to a $2,500 sectional sofa upholstered in one of 600 fabrics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but not enough to make good on their investment.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our business has gone up from our previous store, but it’s not where it needs to be,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Larson said.<\/p>\n
Foliage isn’t the only store that’s suffering. Two of the 16 original businesses \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a gel-mattress dealer and a discount-fabric store \u00e2\u20ac\u201c have canceled their leases. Meanwhile, a second phase of construction has been postponed.<\/p>\n
Vogt said he now realizes it was a mistake to limit the shopping center to furniture stores, although he wants to keep the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153home design\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focus.<\/p>\n
Before he can bring in other shops and restaurants, he needs city approval to change the terms of his shopping-center permit.<\/p>\n
The city requires an analysis of how the changes would affect traffic, parking, hours of operation and other businesses in the area before Vogt’s requests will be considered.<\/p>\n
The city has formed a team of senior staff members to fast-track Vogt’s proposed changes through the review process, said Denny Stone, acting assistant director of community development.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It’s a beautiful center, and we want to see it succeed,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Stone said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Time is one of those elements that is important, so we’re doing everything we can to help.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
IRE Development projects that the shopping center, if it becomes successful, will generate $1.3 million in annual sales tax revenue and support up to 600 permanent jobs once the second phase is built.<\/p>\n
Vogt said he is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153very, very encouraged\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by the support from city planners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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