Davis Manor Center

Davis Manor Center is the small orange-colored shopping center located on East 8th Street. The secluded location and lack of an anchor is a turn-off for prospective (and current) businesses, despite efforts to revitalize the plaza. It is commonly called just "Davis Manor," though technically the name refers to the entire neighborhood.

There was large empty retail space where Ralphs Supermarket used to be until it closed down in April 2002. Ralphs (Kroger) holds the lease on the property until 2011 and is currently subleasing to Paul Petrovich, who had been unsuccessful in finding a new tenant for several years. The city zoning rules require a supermarket to occupy the lot but it was clearly not in Ralphs' best interest to sublease to a competitor. To make matters more interesting, the center consists of 4 parcels, all with different owners. Two of the parcels share a property line that runs through the supermarket building. The building has been rented out to temporary tenants, such as the Halloween Headquarters. In early 2006, the city decided to waive the supermarket requirement and part of the building was finally leased to Dollar Tree.

The two largest remaining tenants (R & R Thrift and Symposium) both own offsite property and are looking to move. The owner of Party and Vac would like to remain in its location and see the center revitalized. Proposals for the area include demolishing the center and created a mixed use residential area. There is contaminated ground under the center from a long gone gas station that would need to be cleaned up before housing could be built.^{1 2}

The center was given its "unique" paint job in the summer of 2003. Some residents have called it "nausea-inducing" and desired it to be repainted to "something actually appealing." Furthermore, Petrovich has said that the color may have driven away a potential tenant to the Ralphs' lot. Others claim that the colors "add dimension and emphasize the building's forms."³ The yellow and green paint job for the Dollar Tree building has received criticism as well. The Dollar Tree originally wanted a beige theme but the neighborhood and city government chose a more "vibrant" palette. ⁴

• Symposium
  

• Red Orchid Restaurant

• George's Auto Repair
  

• Wash Mill

• All Things Right And Relevant
  

• Dollar Tree
  

• International Food Market
  

• Matthews Mattress
  

• Party and Vac
  

• R & R Thrift
  

• Videos To Go

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2005-02-26 02:07:57   On February 19th, I saw some official looking people inside Ralphs. All the lights were turned on. Does anyone know what they were up to? —CraigBrozinsky

2005-06-23 17:08:32   What's with the horrible orange color of the walls? —SummerSong

No idea, but I love it! Strip malls/complexes are inherently ugly, so it's just like fessing up, big time.

2005-06-24 08:36:29   I think the developers should consider turning this center into an international market! It would provide competition for Cost Plus [which I actually *do* love], and it would be a fantastic one-stop for all things international. Sari's, a larger Indian food market, entice Kim's over there, put in a Mexican market... it seems like a great op to me! Anybody got some seed money?? Friends in high places?? —AlphaDog

I'm sure you know about the International Market (middle-Eastern food) in this shopping center.

2005-07-05 01:49:00   What ever happened to getting a TJ's there? It's the perfect spot! —KenNeville

2005-12-08 21:08:03   They are talking about putting the Dollar Tree Store there. —HomeDavis

2005-12-23 15:57:24   If they painted it dignified colors (how about white or tan could be nice), it would not look reviling. And maybe someone would have moved in. But in the meantime, whosever idea it was to paint it that color has really ruined part of Davis. —JaimeRaba

2006-03-27 17:51:01   Why does everything have to be white or slightly off-white? People in other countries aren't so afflicted. —SteveDavison

2006-04-28 19:38:50   There are lots of crazy roaming about. And depressed Als. —AlJean

2006-04-29 21:34:30   What they should do is put a Trader Joe's in there. Boom...revitalize the area, bring in a semi-specialty store that Davis has wanted in forever, and be able to support parking for a store like that, all in one fell swoop. Oh yeah, and paint that hideous thing. (When I was first training to be a driver for Unitrans, my trainer taught me the Chestnut turn on the L line by saying, "Now remember, butt-ugly building [gesturing right], turn left [gesturing left]." Haha —JulieEickhof

2007-04-26 18:14:49   Absolutely perfect location for Trader Joe's. Lots of great parking and no bird poop like University Mall. Trader Joe's would fit perfectly in the other half of the old Ralph's store next to Dollar Tree. —Tina

2008-03-05 10:52:23   I was told there was an empty warehouse in this shopping center, that you can rent out for parties, etc. Is this true? and if so do you know how much it costs? —ConnorF