The closing of the Bel Air store and the Florinification of Elk Grove

Wednesday's was met by expressions of sadness and surprise. While sad, the news should not really have come as a surprise—any knowing person would have realized the store's days were numbered when a newer store on Elk Grove Blvd and Waterman opened earlier in the decade. 

Even though several members of the community urged the city to not develop it, the prevailing attitude at that time was damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

So now Raley's has announced that the older store is one of the under-performing stores that will be closed. What is really surprising is that the store actually lasted as long as it did with another nearby Bel Air and the fierce grocery competition in Elk Grove. Perhaps the lease just ran out and Raley's decided to kill the store.

Whatever the case, this closure is demonstrative of how the continual growth of fringe cities, and even fringe developments within fringe cities, can damage a community.

Will the empty space left by Bel Air be filled anytime soon? Will the retailers at that strip center be able to stay afloat or will they relocate, leaving even more empty space right in the heart of Elk Grove?

As a point of reference, does anyone remember when Florin Road housed numerous car dealerships? Well, that all changed fairly rapidly once the Elk Grove Auto Mall opened and all the dealers fled those iffy confines for the more luxurious auto mall. As best as I can observe, that already iffy area along Florin Road has not substantially improved since the auto dealers left.

So goes Elk Grove Blvd. Will that shopping center and the immediate neighborhood be able to weather the loss of the Bel Air? Or will the area see a decline? Will the property owners be able to attract tenants without a good anchor?

Meanwhile, as Elk Grove starts to feel the effects of its own internal fringe cannibalism in the Bel Air saga, we as a city have decided that we need to expand. I am of course referring to the city's Sphere of Influence (SOI) application to someday annex a large swath of land bordering the city's southern border.

If approved, who will be left holding the pieces as we cannibalize our city's own small businesses and adjoining neighborhoods? Given the long-term structural changes that the Great Recession has forced upon us, do we really need to push more development at the expense of existing homeowners and small business owners?

Why not take those resources that would be spent on expansion of the city and invest in amenities that would really make Elk Grove an enviable place to live? Why not use these funds for a trail system, or expanded public transit or youth services—just to name a few worthy projects that would benefit the average Elk Grove resident.

After all, other than filling the campaign war chests of politicians and the pockets of real estate developers, does adding thousands of more rooftops really benefit the average Elk Grove resident?

So as we progress through this election year, I hope there will be a vigorous debate about the wisdom of Elk Grove's proposed expansion. If there isn't, we could be witnessing the Florinification of Elk Grove.

Dan Gougherty is editor of Elk Grove News, where a version of this blog post first appeared.