Five months after it was first put up because of safety concerns, a fence remains around the building at Central Avenue and 10th Street. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press
On Thursday, the owner of the building at the corner of Central Avenue and 10th Street, Denise Hembree, and her legal team are scheduled to meet with city officials. They are set to work out what would be required to get the building up to code so it can be reoccupied.
Earlier this week, Hembree’s attorney filed an appeal to overrule the city engineers’ finding that the building is unsafe to occupy.
The building was vacated in late October 2011 when members of the city code enforcement team closed the business housed there, Helm’s Ale House, citing structural problems.
Code enforcement officers said six trusses above a former Mexican market, which shared a roof with the restaurant, were in disrepair.
The building was deemed unsafe, and a chain link fence was erected around it, as head code enforcement official Ana Contreras feared it could collapse, especially the structure’s southern wall.
Hembree said she has tried to resolve the problem, but claimed city officials have been unreasonable.
“Code enforcement people are out of control and anxious to exert their authority,” Hembree said. “I’m going to repair it. I’ve been trying to work with the city. They haven’t been cooperative. They seem to want to tear it down.”
Hembree said she has met with engineers. She admitted that they did find cracked trusses, and said repairs would range between $150,000 and $300,000.
Hembree said the city is requiring her to undergo the most expensive process, though she can’t afford it.
According to Ana Contreras, the building owner’s engineer and the city engineer have a difference of opinion. Contreras said it is the city’s goal to get the building in compliance as soon as possible, especially before downtown events such as the wine stroll and Tracy Dry Bean Festival.
“With the wine stroll coming up, we would like to see that area safe,” Contreras said. “We would like the engineers to come together to come to a mutual decision as to how dangerous that (southern) wall is. Our goal is to make that building safe again.”
Downtown merchants located near the building in question said they’re tired of the eyesore.
“Fix it,” said one business owner, who asked not to be identified. “That’s what people see. What kind of impression is that? Having an empty building is not a good thing.”
Hair Illusions owner, Joe Cisneroz said, “Its sad Helm’s isn’t there. It hurts the downtown image. Why isn’t the (Tracy City Center Association) doing something about this big eyesore out here?”
TCCA Manager Jan Couturier said there isn’t much the alliance of downtown merchants and property owners can do to resolve the matter.
“Yes, it’s important,” Couturier said. “It’s an important corner. Nobody wants that corner the way it is. Nobody is happy about it, but it has to run its course. It’s certainly on our list of things to keep an eye on.”
Hembree said she has asked the city to allow her to remove the fence after she initiated some repairs to the building, but she said city officials told her their requirements have not been met.
“My goal is to always repair the building,” Hembree said. “A local man and his family want to put a restaurant there. I may lose them if I don’t get the building done on time. Once construction starts, it should be about six weeks.”
"Maybe the City should have used some of the wasted money on the roundabout on the re vitalzation of some of the occuiped store fronts, if their so worried about the visual aspect"
signed, disengauged during english class.
“Fix it,” said one business owner, who asked not to be identified. “That’s what people see. What kind of impression is that? Having an empty building is not a good thing.”
Hair Illusions owner, Joe Cisneroz said, “Its sad Helm’s isn’t there. It hurts the downtown image. Why isn’t the (Tracy City Center Association) doing something about this big eyesore out here?”
Per the article, the City's overriding concern is SAFETY.
The above quotes were from business owners viewing the problem from a completely different perspective.
Ms. Hembree (without assistance from her insurance company, City or Bank Loan) will not be able to restore this original site, for that building is far to old.
I know many of you miss Helm's, but that is not an option in Ms. Hembree's mind. I mean, if you were the owner of a property, and received as much guff as she did over this business venture, than would you want the same tenant in that building?
Back to my original thought...
Walking traffic will revitalize downtown and the city center, will finally be the CENTER of THE CITY. Isn't that what Tracy needs? Now is an opportune time to accomplish that goal. And, since our 23rd hour meeting to bring the Amazon Warehouse to Tracy was a flop, there should be funds available to make this happen...
Small town charm, big city dreams.
Think Inside the Triangle, fellow Tracyites.
A poor use of the site.
"...for that building is far to old."
Old buildings require more maintenance. The older the building, the more issues.
"since our 23rd hour meeting to bring the Amazon Warehouse to Tracy was a flop, there should be funds available to make this happen..."
Your source for that information would be?
Here you go Don... I see they took down the fence on 6th Street... Looks Good.
A letter to the editor is your source ? You're aware that some letter writers have less integrity than some of the lowest standards set by journalists are you not ?
We think it looks good too.
I blame "Siri." She's the landlord in my life.
And, most of the time, editorials are the most truthful parts of the news.
It's been a pleasure Dale. Give my regards to Karin.
I would but that ship sailed... one chose to remain. Still, a very nice lady.
all kidding aside, there are so many factors at play here...
1) the damage that closed the building was NOT on the side Helm's Ale House was on...that was well documented in the original article.
2) this is a MAJOR corner in our downtown...and a building that will house customers who have no clue (they trust the landlords to keep said buildings in good condition) that the building is in bad shape. If the city does NOT require the RIGHT fix (which may be the higher priced one...it happens!)...then the city AND the owner are liable. Why cheap out on this? If it's quoted between $150-300,000 to fix...well that's already a lot of money at $150,000!! Is it vital so save...well yes, but I'm betting that the $150,000 isn't exactly in Ms. Hembree's budget...because that's a boatload of cash!
Do it right...don't do it halfway so that Tracy makes the news for yet another tragedy.
3) does anyone else find it odd that almost immediately Ms. Hembree was talking about a tenant who wanted to move in? How many empty buildings do we have in this town...some even downtown...yet SHE can turn around an immediately have a tenant.
I miss Helm's...good food, good people...and the thing is, I hate seeing people hanging out smoking as much as the next person...but Dave Helm is NOT the only person downtown smoking a cigarette!!! Smoking is not legal inside an establishment, so they are abiding by the law in not doing so. Yes...it's not "pretty"...but Dave's a big boy and can make up his own mind about what habit's he partakes in. We need to grow up and allow people that right. After all, we can look at history books to see what doing something like criminalizing smoking would do (see: Prohibition).
Let's get this eyesore fixed...let's get Helm's back in business...and let's make downtown a place to be!! It's taken great strides in the 3.5 years I've lived here...the whole town has! I love it! :-)
The writer's ignorance with regard to responsibility staggers the mind.
as for Ms. Contreras not knowing the sequence of events downtown? She's CODE ENFORCEMENT!!! Do you think that EVERY city official should know EVERY detail of EVERY thing going on? Personally...I prefer that they know about what they NEED to be doing. If Ms. Contreras needs to be up on codes...THAT'S what I want her knowing...not when the Wine Stroll is!
sheesh
Case Number:
39-2012-00277757-CU-BC-STK