Daughtrey’s on Monday’s MAC agenda with giant indoor playground plan

Economic Development
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A picture from Lost Worlds Adventures Facebook page of its indoor play structure at its Livermore location.
Developer David Greensfelder will be at Monday’s Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting to describe plans to transform the Daughtrey’s department store building on Castro Valley Boulevard into a giant indoor playground.

In an email to Castro Valley Matters, Greensfelder confirmed his plan to develop the long-abandoned, county-owned building into a “Lost Worlds Adventures,” which currently has one location in Livermore. According to its Facebook page, Lost Worlds includes “next gen laser tag, black light mini golf, super play structure, arcade, parties.” This video from the Lost Worlds Livermore location shows an indoor playground with slides, a ball pit, and climbing structures.

A ball pit at Lost Worlds.
The Alameda County Economic and Civic Development Department has been coordinating the redevelopment of the site since the former redevelopment agency was compelled to sell it because of “redevelopment dissolution.” The State of California dissolved redevelopment districts and forced the sale of their property portfolios to help balance state and local government budgets that saw a collapse in revenue during the Great Recession.

The former Alameda County Redevelopment Agency purchased the building for $2.78 million in 2011. In June 2014, Alameda County entered into a Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with Greensfelder to agree to sell him the former department store building for $860,000.

A June 2013 appraisal valued the site at $950,000; however, the sale price of the building was further reduced to $860,000 partially because of costs associated with “contaminated and treated water being discharged into the local storm drain” that is authorized under a permit from the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board.  The May 1, 2012 real estate update to the Alameda County Successor Agency Oversight Board (the successor to the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency) estimated the cost of demolishing the building and filling in the basement at $365,000. It concluded that “the cost to continue basement dewatering and water quality monitoring, versus building demolition and removal of the reporting requirement, is nearly equivalent over time.”

The County took direct possession of the building in February 2016 and is its current owner. Per the DDA and according to a November 17, 2016 letter from Eileen Dalton from the Economic and Civic Development Department to the MAC, the sale to Greensfelder may go forward once he has fulfilled the following contingencies:

  • Provide “preliminary conceptual drawings”
  • Demonstrate pre-leasing commitments of “no less than 10,000 square feet of retail space”
  • Obtain land use approvals.

This “due diligence,” must take place by December 2, 2016, per an extension to the DDA.

The sale price was also reduced to reflect restrictions that Alameda County included for the property.  The DDA requires a “high quality” renovation of the building and gives Alameda County authority for an 11-year period over governs what type of commercial development may and may not be take place.

Greensfelder has confirmed that Lost Worlds is the only tenant currently contemplated for the redevelopment. Additionally, he confirmed that an indoor playground it is not one of the uses restricted by the DDA. He also believes that the project is in line with the Castro Valley Specifc Plan.

According to the minutes from an April 2015 project update to the MAC, Dalton said that in an email from Greensfelder, he had communicated that there had “great interest in the property from a variety of tenants,” including “one large retailer,” and “2 possible restaurants.”

Prior to the incorporation of Castro Valley Matters into a community non-profit, it advocated that the Daughtrey’ building be torn down and replaced by a town square with parking. At the March 17, 2014 meeting where the town square proposal was discussed, many public speakers spoke in favor of demolishing the building and replacing it with a public space.

Supervisor Nate Miley noted at the June 24, 2104 Board of Supervisors meeting, where the DDA with Greensfelder was approved, that through years of public process there was consensus to develop the location commercially. Miley said that a renovated Daughtrey’s building would serve as an “engine of growth” for Downtown Castro Valley along with the shared parking project behind the Daughtrey’s and Knudsen’s Ice Creamery buildings.

The MAC meets Monday, November 28 at 6:00 pm at the Castro Valley Library on 3600 Norbridge Avenue. The MAC will be considering two additional items: the subdivision of a parcel on Center Street into lots for seven single family homes and the construction of 27 townhomes on Jamison Way. Here is a link to the meeting agenda.

Thanks for the information Michael. I really hope people can come to this meeting. There has not been a lot of updates about this site, and I was hoping for something a lot better than this. I don’t see how this “Lost World” idea will translate into more successful businesses in our downtown. I really wish that the building had been torn down three years ago. Even a simple parking lot would have allowed us to hold the food trucks and the farmers market at the heart of downtown. Please come to the meeting.

Peter: I am planning to give a comprehensive update about what has happened with the building since the Redevelopment Agency purchased it in 2011, leasing efforts to date, and about Lost Worlds. The owner also plans to attend as well to answer questions. Your question about how Lost Worlds will translate into more successful businesses in Downtown Castro Valley is a good one, and I will plan to address that specifically. Thank you for bringing it up. Best regards, David Greensfelder

Thanks David, does this mean that you have a long term economic impact projection if Lost Worlds is approved? Time after time, I remember hearing you and Eileen Dalton speak about how much interest there was in this location from restaurants and retailers. What happened? In this thriving economy, it would seem that there should be more interest, not less, for such a prime location.

I look forward to hearing your presentation and hope to hear some good news about the heart of our town.

Thanks for all the good information on this. It’s a complex and technical issue, but what is very simple and very clear is this: Castro Valley needs a plaza downtown. This would help create the sense of place the community desperately needs. It’s not hard to envision a weekly summer evening festival with food trucks, live music and artists selling their wares. It would be so great to have a centrally-located spot that would serve as a gathering place and strengthen Castro Valley’s identity. The play place that the developer is proposing looks like a business that would be fun for kids and families in the area, but in a different location. The highest and best use of the Daughtrey’s location would be to tear the building down and make a downtown plaza.

I would certainly welcome all points of view about the Daughtrey Building, and encourage anyone wishing to express their thoughts to attend the MAC meeting on Monday evening.!

While a certain niche market would no doubt enjoy another “tot lot,” this proposal doesn’t really add to the vitality of our downtown. It’s disappointing after such a long wait that this is what we are being offered. I think the county should loosen up its parking requirements so that the entire building could be used. Or better yet, why not tear the eyesore down and have a town square where we could have food trucks, poetry slams, live music and art shows in the summer? The high school choir kids could sing there during the holidays, the high school improv comedy club could perform there, we could light a Christmas tree and menorah there, have an ice-rink, Dusty Paws pet rescue could have adoption fairs there, the CV Dramatic Arts Academy could perform there. The possibilities are endless. And this is what great towns all have. We can be a great town, too, with a little vision.

Its clear to me that this building is very difficult to redevelop into an “engine of growth” for our downtown. We have been looking at this eyesore for over 2 decades .I would hate to see more of our tax dollars being thrown at this and continuing to hope that something positive can be found for this site. I think its time our County leaders say we gave it our best shot, lets move on and start a conversation around the vision that Ellen Griffen and others have expressed. Having a vibrant downtown would accomplish the County’s vision of creating more tax dollars.

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