By Clarence Cromwell
A bigger Safeway store, a new Citibank building and other improvements are on the way at Argonaut Shopping Center, Deke Hunter, the plaza's co-owner, said last week.
The Cupertino firm of Hunter/ Storm took possession of Argonaut Feb. 14 when escrow closed on the shopping center. Hunter and his partner Ed Storm own 14 other shopping centers in the Bay Area.
Within a month, Hunter expects to take a proposal to the city for the work on the center.
The Safeway expansion would be the most dramatic change.
Safeway store manager Jeff Barats said his company hasn't made a decision; he's waiting for word from division manager David Weed.
The extra space would let Safeway offer a greater variety of the products it sells now, Barats said. Safeway would also remodel the store inside and put on a new facade.
"You won't recognize the place," Barats said.
The Safeway remodel would probably include new dairy coolers and a service center with photo developing, Barats said. A new ATM and bank branch could move into the store, possibly a Wells Fargo, he said.
A new freestanding building for Citibank is possible. Hunter offered to build on at the front of the center, near the corner of Blauer Drive and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. The bank hasn't yet decided on the offer, said Grant Keeney, Northern California real estate manager for Citibank. He added that Citibank also may expand the space it currently rents or keep the same space without expanding.
Improvements to the shopping center are also planned. "Our basic plan is to physically improve the center," Hunter said. That will include new roofs, landscaping and additional parking lot lighting.
"We're going to try to make it more attractive and a nice place to shop," Hunter added.
Last year nearby residents complained that Phil Sanfilipo, the previous owner, wasn't maintaining the center. The city subsequently forced Sanfilipo to clean up litter in the lot, remove dead trees and pull weeds on the premises.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 27, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved