The City of San Diego declared the vacant Haggen grocery store building at 2235 University Ave. in North Park “a public nuisance” and ordered the company to clean up the site within 10 days, according to the notice posted Jan. 11 at the closed store.
Haggen declared bankruptcy in 2015 and closed all of its stores in San Diego, Southern California, and Arizona after many consumers did not shop there after Haggen replaced Albertson’s stores. The North Park store closed Nov. 30, with all the Haggen workers losing their jobs.
Graffiti has marred the building, which has wooden shutters covering the store’s windows. Some graffiti was painted over, but it has reappeared on two sides of the building. Garbage and food products have been strewn at the entrance and in parts of the parking lot.
“This vacant and unsecured structure poses a serious threat to the public’s health and safety and it is declared to be a public nuisance in accordance with the San Diego Municipal Code Section 54.0301,” states the notice.
The notice ordered Haggen to remove all waste and rubbish by Jan. 21, saying it could pose a fire and health hazard.
The Smart & Final Company has said they will occupy the building and a notice of the transfer of ownership to them was posted on the building Dec. 18. However, nothing appears to have been done to the vacant store to prepare for a new grocery outlet.
A bin for people to donate used clothing remains in the parking lot, but it has been broken into and is open, with clothing strewn nearby. There are several mattresses behind the store. San Diego Police arrested one woman in December who illegally parked a recreational vehicle that heavily leaked oil across three handicapped parking spaces.
No one at Haggen or Smart & Final could be reached for comment Monday. Haggen operates a number of grocery stores in Washington and Oregon.
The North Park store is the same site where neighbors successfully stopped a bottle recycling business in the parking lot of Albertson’s in 2014.
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