Aging retail center may get facelift

Mollie Stone's, with seven stores throughout the Bay Area, originally estimated that its new San Mateo store would be open sometime in November. But extensive planning, fire and building inspections as well as construction delays caused the opening to be pushed to its current time, according to owner David Bennett.

"With the planning department or the building department there's a lot of last-minute details," Bennett said. The details, however, are crucial for Bennett and he said the scheduled opening is still in the range he originally intended.

"We're close to getting all the approvals, but there are facets of government to be satisfied," he said. "Two years ago, we estimated we would open anywhere between October of 2000 to April of this year."

When it does open, the market -- which Bennett described as something between Safeway and Draeger's -- will feature fresh produce and meat, a salad bar, cooked food, a "tortillaria" (for fresh tortillas) and a child care center called "Mollie Land."

Bennett wouldn't disclose how much the renovation cost, but said, "We'll have to be in business here for thirty years to make up the cost."

The renovation could be the first in a line of similar projects in the Bel Mateo area -- in San Mateo just north of the Belmont border on El Camino Real -- as Chris Carsten, the owner of the shopping center, is investigating the possibility of creating a specific plan for redevelopment.

Carsten has enlisted the services of Freeman, Tung & Bottomly -- a planning firm -- to gauge interest in a neighborhood-serving retail and residential development.

"It's not what I want, it's what the neighborhood wants because if it's not what the neighborhood wants then it's not going to happen," Carsten said, emphasizing that it's still very early in the process. "There's a lot of potential here."

Marilyn Rex, who has lived just blocks from the area for 25 years, said she stopped shopping in the center after Petrini's shut down two years ago.

"Clearly something needs to be done," she said. "It probably makes some sense because it's a very undeveloped area and needs some work."

The shopping center is a mixed bag of services such as an electronics store, two dry cleaners, restaurants, a bowling alley, nail salon and drug store in nine separate buildings spread over three streets. It also houses the offices of the San Mateo-Foster City School District. As 42nd Avenue approaches the center, it winds around the north-side shops -- which sometimes causes confusion for drivers new to the area.

"It's kind of convoluted, I've seen people going in the wrong direction all the time," Rex said. "It's far more confusing than it is supposed to be, but if there's a reconfiguration of that what will happen to the parking?"

The number of buildings and property owners may make coordination of a specific plan difficult, said Elaine Borland, owner of Acme Rug Company on 42nd Avenue. Borland attended a neighborhood workshop at San Mateo City Hall on Jan. 25 to discuss some ideas for changes to the area.

"There are several obstacles to overcome before they make any real progress. We could use some cosmetic help but I've heard mixed messages," she said. "People don't want big chains but rather locally owned businesses. They want all this diversity and local ownership and I have to say that's what you have. We have an electronincs store, restaurants, a comic book store and dry cleaners -- they're all small mom-and-pop owners."

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