Rumors swirl about new tenant, but Winn-Dixie building remains empty

Afloat, but left drifting. That is how business owners and managers in the San Carlos Park Marketplace on U.S. 41 are still describing the status quo nearly a year after Winn-Dixie shut its doors after more than 20 years in the area.

"About five months ago they (the landlords) told us they had two businesses interested," said Tammy Wentz, Manager of Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, "but they didn't tell us any names."

Rumors abound, but no concrete information on a new anchor store has been distributed to the owners of the surrounding small businesses. Wentz said she thought a new tenant might be moving in because of construction being done inside the old store. Another tenant, however, said the work being done inside the store was only the removal of old equipment and furnishings that had been sold by Winn-Dixie.

"Business is slower, but I'm not too worried," said Van Nguyen, manager of Natural Nails. "This is an OK place to do business, but I don't expect things to pick up again."

Nguyen said the nail salon will remain at its current location even if a new anchor store is not found.

Many businesses in the strip mall are concerned both about the lack of an anchor store, and the lack of communication from the owner or the property manager, but are determined to stick it out and keep their current clientele as happy as possible.

"Most of our customers would come here no matter what," said Wentz. Banking is not as movable of a service, for example, a video store or nail salon, she said. Her customers come to the bank specifically to do business there, not simply because they were already at the grocery store.

The loss of the popular grocery store as a draw to the plaza is affecting business, however, and many area residents say they no longer stop at the strip mall for anything since they have to go elsewhere to do their grocery shopping already.

"I don't want to drive any more than I absolutely have to with the price of gas," said Mike Jeffrey. "So wherever I do my grocery shopping is where I try and do everything else and combine everything in one trip."

Bob Payne, manager of Mailing Center Etc. said business is definitely slower, but he plans to stay through the end of the lease at minimum. He said he will take another look at his options at that time. The business has been a part of the plaza for six years, and he said it has been an average place to do business.

Despite the lackluster outlook for business in the plaza, and despite a general consensus that business at the location is mediocre even at the best of times, most businesses are putting up with the lack of communication and the uncertainty of future plans for the mall and simply going on with business as normal.

Jerry Tant, owner of Gulf Coast Cleaners, expressed a worry as early as last September about the loss of Winn-Dixie as an anchor store. "

"I have loyal customers that will continue to come," he said at the time. "But there is nothing to attract new customers." Tant has reduced his hours of business twice since the anchor store closed, sending more and more of his business to his other location in Bonita Springs.

Professional Reality Consultants of Lee County was unavailable for comment, and property owner Ray Webber of Hamburg, N.Y., was unreachable.

Webber was confident last September that a new tenant would be fairly easy to find. At that time, he had no plans to shut the plaza down or sell the property for development.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.