The Trancas Country Market, which will expand its existing building space by 37,000 square feet, and possibly add another 11,000 square feet by 2012, is already in talks with businesses at other Malibu plazas to relocate.
By Olivia Damavandi / Staff Writer
Discussions are underway for nine local businesses currently housed in the Cross Creek and Malibu Colony shopping plazas to relocate to or open new stores at Trancas Country Market upon completion, which owner and Malibu resident Dan Bercu last week said could occur by 2012 or sooner, depending on multiple factors, including permit acquisition. With the Planning Commission’s blessing, construction could begin this fall.
The commission is set to consider approval of a coastal development permit to allow the expansion and renovation of Trancas Country Market, located at the intersection of Trancas Canyon Road and Pacific Coast Highway, at its May 5 meeting at City Hall.
Bercu also confirmed that existing Trancas Country Market tenants, such as Joey Escobar Karate, Drill surf shop and Malibu Garden Center, will remain, but may relocate within the shopping center.
The expansion and renovation plan calls for a 37,372 square foot addition to existing buildings on the 14-acre shopping center, a new public parking lot north of HOWS supermarket, a new employee parking lot north of Chevron on the west side of Trancas Canyon Road and a new 11,000 square foot shopping center to be built on the former Riders and Ropers 6.44-acre property located east of Trancas Creek. In his application, Bercu has also proposed to enhance Trancas Creek by planting native vegetation along its banks.
Described by Bercu as “old Malibu with a modern touch,” Trancas Country Market will be styled after The Napa Valley Reserve, a Northern California winery and vineyard in a country setting, and will be built around a courtyard to create a commons.
In a meeting Thursday of last week with The Malibu Times, Bercu said one of his priorities is helping to “keep Malibu businesses in Malibu,” in reference to the many local stores in Cross Creek and Malibu Colony plazas that have been forced to relocate or shut down due to increased rent.
Doing so, however, is dependent on how long it takes to complete the expansion plans at Trancas Country Market. Bercu explained that the longer the project takes, the more difficult it will be to retain local businesses because rents will increase to generate a greater return.
“The heart and soul of Malibu has been displaced, shoved into corners or into Agoura because of cost,” Doug Burdge, Malibu resident and principal designer of Burdge & Associates, a residential architecture firm hired by Bercu to design the center, said at the meeting. “This is a shopping center created by locals, for locals.”
The nine existing eastern Malibu businesses considering making the move to, or opening an additional location at Trancas Country Market include Malibu Yogurt; Super Care Pharmacy; Diesel, A Bookstore; European Shoe Repair; Vitamin Barn; Toy Crazy; Malibu Eye Center; Room at the Beach and K Chocolatier.
Other potential tenants include: Wells Fargo bank; Trancas Cleaners; Helen’s Cycle Shop; Sea Lily Flowers; Starbucks; Canyon Beach Wear; an art gallery; Cone gelato; a newsstand; Apartment 9 men’s clothing store and SB Running Shoes.
The 11,000 square foot center on the former Riders and Ropers property may house Zuma Beach Hardware and General Store, Sherman’s Place, Malibu Yoga, Score Learning Center, Topanga Lumber and an urgent care facility. Despite his plans for the property, Bercu said it has been of interest to the National Parks Service for lagoon restoration, and it is for sale. He said he would sell it to the NPS for $3.5 million.
To date, the only signed tenants to lease sites at the larger property are two restaurants: Malibu Diner, proposed by restaurant and nightclub mogul Rande Gerber, and La Spiaggia (Italian for “the beach”), headed by the owners of Tra Di Noi in Malibu Country Mart.
Bercu and Burdge said the expansion and renovation of Trancas Country Market will benefit the Malibu community in many ways: by creating 18 restrooms and implementing two alternative onsite wastewater treatment systems to reduce pollution; by creating an employment base for local youth, and by allowing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus to use the employee parking lot as a turnaround instead of the rear, pedestrian-filled Trancas Market parking lot.
Bercu said he is interested in hearing input from all Malibu residents about the project, and that he can be reached at 310.994.2694.