Market & Noe Center Slow to Make Change

By Bill Sywak

Struck on one side by the death of a prominent small business owner and a corporate impasse between Radio Shack and Trader Joe’s on the other, the half-shuttered Market & Noe Center will likely need time to fill its vacant space.

At present, the impending changes to the Market & Noe Center, the former Tower Records site at 2284 Market St., are in a prolonged state of change, according to Kent Jeffrey, long-time owner of the building and an avid neighborhood supporter. Currently, the major hold-up is the disposition of Kard Zone, the downstairs card shop closed after the untimely passing of owner Brad Villers in March.

“Evidently, no one wants to be the executor of Brad’s estate, and the matter is somewhere with the city right now,” Jeffrey said. “Everything is in a state of limbo right now.”

In addition, after the intervention of the mayor’s office and much negotiation, the other first floor tenant, Radio Shack, is reported to be relocating across Market Street. However, further details of that move are closely held by the Radio Shack corporate office and not shared with the Castro staff, according to 35-year company veteran and current manager, John Robbins.

Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s, which has plans to take over the structure, had no comment, according to a spokesperson at the company’s corporate headquarters in Southern California.

Trader Joe’s signed a lease on Jan. 7 for the space, vacated three years ago by Tower Records. However, the deal is contingent upon Radio Shack agreeing to move across the street or upstairs in the building. Both the space offered across the street, which has been vacated by Plant It Earth, as well as the open location upstairs in the Market & Noe Center are larger than Radio Shack’s current store.

Copyright 2010 Castro Courier