July 10, 2009
By Ian Bauers
SAN JOSE — Nation's Giant Hamburgers, the long-vacant,
burned out building at 1295 Piedmont Road, was torn down June
10.
Weeds, cracked concrete foundations and a rusty, rotating
30-foot tall metal sign imprinted with Piedmont Hills Shopping
Center in fading letters are all that's left of the former
retailing site, following a years-long wait to remove the
unsightliness south of Sierra Road.
"Now we're working on getting the sign down because
a lot of people are calling it an eyesore," District
Four Councilman Kansen Chu said this week. "We're searching
for a permit to legally knock the sign down."
Stephanie Fong, a policy analyst with Chu's office, said
property owner Dan Hoady had been working on new development
plans for the Piedmont Road site, plans that initially envisioned
an animal clinic. Those plans are now on hold.
"They informed me that the tenant who was looking to
develop the property has not been able to get the financing
needed for the veterinarian office that was planned,"
Fong said. "The property owner hopes to keep this site
for retail purposes. He is exploring his own financing and
is currently looking for other buyers and tenants."
The original shopping center property, which was split as
part of a condemnation process to allow for the construction
of the adjacent San Jose Fire Department Station No. 19 at
3292 Sierra Road, is now up for sale.
"The property is being sold as a land deal," said
Andrew Reeder, a representative with San Francisco-based Trade
Commercial Group Inc.
Meanwhile, Councilman Chu hopes the former Nation's site
will see a better use after six years of neglect and a 2006
fire that scorched the hamburger joint.
"Slowly but surely we're working on improving the location,"
he said.
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