Safeway will request, from the Planning Commission, a one-year
delay before it starts building a gas station at Tennant
Station.
Safeway will request, from the Planning Commission, a one-year delay before it starts building a gas station at Tennant Station.
The company was previously granted a conditional use permit with June 11, 2003, as the deadline to begin construction.
The 12-pump Safeway fuel center and kiosk for cashier, restroom and retail sales displays are planned for the southeast corner of Tennant Avenue and Monterey Road. The project is part of a planned restoration of Tennant Station.
Planning Director David Bischoff said Monday that most of Safeway’s required building permits for the restoration project have been issued but neither tear down nor construction has begun.
The fueling station was originally approved by the commission in June 2001 and a first extension granted for delay in July 2002. Safeway is also requesting a waiver for the $991 extension fee normally charged by the city.
Terracommercial Real Estate, which owns Tennant Station, plans to raze several existing buildings to make way for the new 54,799 square-foot Safeway, a 7,000 square-foot office building and gas station on the site.
To make room for the new buildings, Terracommercial will remove the old Long’s Drug Store and the strip of stores stretching east from Rosso’s Furniture to the drive aisle leading to Vineyard. The building housing Cinema 6 and the separate building with Party Safari and 24-hour Fitness will remain.
The new grocery store will be east of Rosso’s Furniture. The office building has been moved away from the corner of Tennant and Monterey to a currently vacant lot near SpeeDee TuneUp on Tennant Avenue. And the new gas station will perch on the primary corner, though moved back a bit to allow for more significant landscaping and, especially, a large specimen tree, as requested by the Planning Commission.
The corner is across the street from the historic “21 Mile Station” site, now a small pocket park, anchored by ancient oak trees, and the city preferred landscaping of similar weight. Burger King and Rite-Aid sit on the other two corners and do not have significant landscaping.
Terracommercial’s Mike LaBarbera said complete site preparation and construction should take around nine months after final approval is gained. While the original timeline had project completion in early 2003, there have been delays.
“It is taking longer than expected,” LaBarbera said recently.
Before the Safeway Store on East Dunne at Highway 101 was built, the store was located at Tennant Station in the building now occupied by Rosso’s. The new store is designed to be 5,000 square-feet smaller than the existing one at Dunne and Highway 101.
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The public is invited to speak on issues on or off the agenda at commission meetings. Planning Commission meets tonight, 7 p.m., in City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.morgan-hill.ca.gov or 779-7271. Commission meetings are broadcast live on cable access channel 17.
