Blight continues to sink downtown SJ's prospects
Downtown developer Gary Dillabough suggests that homeless vandals are trashing the properties he wants to improve in SJ's struggling downtown. SJ Mercury reports.
“They (the property owners) have security trying to keep up with the night activity,” according to posted minutes of the Nov. 13 appeals board meeting. “They are having issues with the homeless entering the property and want to make this a better place.”
The officials, however, urged the property owners to do more, particularly related to some significant structural damage at the 98 East San Salvador location.
“There is one property located at 98 San Salvador that has a roof caving in,” the meeting minutes stated. “Code Enforcement asked the property owners back in April to get a damage survey so Code Enforcement can assess, along with the Fire Department, safety to the neighborhood.”
Arrillaga stated during the meeting that he and Dillabough have hired security to keep an eye on the property. They both believe that homeless individuals are responsible for much of the blight.
“People are walking around with shopping carts, with saws, drills, and axes. This place is under attack. … This is exhausting. We are at our wit’s end,” Dillabough said. “We have invested over $400 million in the downtown to try to make this better. We can go out there and paint it and change it every day. And in the morning it will be different again.”
City officials decided to impose a fine of just under $2,700 on the owner of the site. The city gave Dillabough and Arrillaga until Dec. 14 to remedy all necessary problems.
The problems are widespread throughout downtown San Jose, Dillabough told this news organization.
“Something needs to be done about all the vacancies downtown,” Dillabough said. “There are probably 90 vacant sites in downtown San Jose. Our goal is to make this a more vibrant and safe downtown.”
San Jose officials have yet to force a final remediation of many other blight problems elsewhere in the city, including downtown.
Read the whole thing here.
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