Parking Design a Concern for New Grocery Store on Old Co-Op Site

While many are excited about a proposal to finally tear down the eyesore that is the long vacant Co-op on Geary Road and replace it with a sparkling new grocery store, city planners worry about the plan for the parking lot.

Planners believe the layout for the 147-vehicle lot is "somewhat tight" in terms of parking stall depths, aisle widths, setbacks and the amount of landscaping.

A plan to build a Henry's Farmers Market will be studied by the Design Review commission Wednesday.

Hall Equities Group is seeking a preliminary review of its proposal to raze the former Co-op grocery store and build a 34,598-square-foot retail development on the 2.8-acre site.

The anchor tenant would be a 25,000-square-foot Henry's Farmers Market, which will try to replicate the shopping experience of produce stands and neighborhood butcher shops of the 1950s.

Henry's stores, which were established in 1943, sell produce, fresh meats and deli foods, as well as vitamins, supplements and all-natural foods, including bulk grains, nuts and candy.

Developer Mark Hall said in an earlier interview his company had four grocery retailers interested in the site.

"All were smaller 'neighborhood market' type concepts," he said. "We felt that Henry's was the best fit for us from a business standpoint and was an excellent fit for the site and the particular market area which they will serve."

He adds that Henry's is "at the cutting edge" of the fresh produce "locavore" movement.

Beyond bringing this grocery store to Walnut Creek, Hall said his company is excited to spearhead the effort to clean up the Co-op eyesore, "which is a true blight to the immediate neighborhood and north Walnut Creek generally."

The Co-op closed in the 1970s, and has been vacant since. The site is designated for "mixed-use residential." Development has been complicated by restrictions imposed by Measure A that say a new structure there can only be 20 feet high. City staff  has said the restriction would limit the land's potential as a site for a housing complex.

Planners are pleased with the design of the grocery store and other buildings, calling it  "very nicely done," according to a staff report prepared for the meeting.

The parking lot and overall site layout is another matter.

A parking lot may be designed so the front of cars overhang low landscaping, but there is concern about stalls that are 15 1/2 feet long — 2 1/2 feet shorter than the standard 18 feet, according to the staff report.

Vehicles will need to be "nose to nose" over the median planters in some areas or drivers will be hesitant to pull all the way forward. The backs of vehicles also could stick out into the aisles and block the two-way flow of traffic.

Planners also think there should be a "substantial" amount of more landscaping around the project, as well as a 20-foot setback between the grocery store and adjacent apartment and condominium developments.

The Design Review Commission meets 7 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council chambers, 1666 N. Main St.