Quick Take
A national retailer has signed a letter of intent for the site of the former New Leaf Community Market on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. The real estate broker involved in the deal says while it won’t be a grocery store, “everyone will be happy” about the new tenant.
A national retailer could soon take over the downtown Santa Cruz space vacated last fall by New Leaf Community Markets.
According to Reuben Helick, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield, which manages the property, a letter of intent has been signed for the 9,000-square-foot store at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Soquel Avenue. While it won’t be a grocery store, Helick said he believes that “everyone will be happy” about the new tenant.
More details won’t be available until at least March due to a confidentiality clause. (Under what’s called a non-disclosure agreement, the retailer’s name can’t be made public until a contract is signed and any additional terms are met.)
New Leaf closed in October after nearly 30 years in the former Bank of Italy building, citing a need for more space. The company will open a larger store in the Gateway Plaza on River Street later this year. The new market’s 29,000-square-foot footprint will allow room for more prepared food, a larger produce selection, a bigger meat and seafood department, and an expanded product selection.
Helick’s company also manages the downtown retail space at Pacific Avenue and Cooper Street that was occupied by O’Neill Surf Shop until earlier this week. He told Lookout the company is working hard to find a new tenant for that space, too.
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