A reader sent me the picture above, but I hesitated to post it because I had to see myself to believe. And yesterday, I did. The ultimate in down market retailers, 99 cent store, is moving to the 91355, to the old Do It Center space on Valencia Blvd just west of Bouquet Junction.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times, of the new, humble reality we SCVers find ourselves in versus the go-go years of the first decade of the 21st Century.Five or six years ago, we couldn’t build fast enough in this town. New retail, housing, commercial development was everywhere. If you left town for a month or so, you might come back and see 2 x 4s jutting up in the sky in a place that used to be open and untouched. Our population was growing by thousands every year, and budgets were fat and getting fatter. Your Thomas Guide from two years ago (yes, I used Thomas Guides as recently as 2006)? Throw it out, it probably doesn’t even have the new roads built in North Valencia or West Ridge.
And now? Well after several solid years of increasing commercial and retail vacancies, of perhaps declining population, of hundreds or thousands of homes in foreclosure or hastily placed into short sale, we have a 99 Cent Store in Valencia.
And it’s across the street from a Mercedes Benz and BMW dealer! Look to the left and you’ll see $60,000 SUVs; look to the right and you’ll see year-old canned tuna from the Philippines selling for $0.99. You’ve got to feel sorry for the Realtors who will drive prospective SCVers through this part of town, pointing out its features. What will they do?
“And if you look to your left, you’ll see a Mercedes Benz Dealership, a ball field, and a bike path. Oh and the might Santa Clara river too. That’s it. Keep looking. Keep looking. ”
I’m getting dizzy just thinking about it.
In a post last year I dubbed a humble strip mall in Canyon Country the greatest strip mall in all of Suburbia. But the greater 99 Cent Store/Mercedes Benz/Bouquet Junction geographic area has to be among the greatest planning areas in all of Suburbia too. Think about it- where else can you buy a Merc SUV, fill its immense cargo area with victuals and cheap party favors for $3.99, dine and sample food from around the world with Petz and his kind at Hometown Buffet and then fill up your vehicle at any one of the three gas stations on the four corners of Bouquet & Soledad?
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