Promised "Destination Restaurant" Site Sits Empty For Nine Years

 Developer/City Scams Emeryville Citizens 

"Non-Chain Destination Restaurant" Promised for Parc-on-Powell Project Was Never To Be 

5700 Hollis Street
This was going to be a non-chain restaurant 
serving the community.  Instead, for nine years it has been
vacant like so many other Emeryville storefronts.

With promises of a non-chain destination restaurant made to the public from City Hall and a very visible prime central Emeryville location opening directly onto a park, people may wonder why the storefront retail at the ‘Parc on Powell’ project at 5700 Hollis has remained empty since the site was developed as a mixed use project more than nine years ago.  The storefront, over 3000 square feet in size sits below a large apartment block and has been ready for a tenant for almost a decade.  But it remains vacant like so many other empty storefronts in Emeryville, a festering wound on the town’s retail streetscape.  A recent Tattler investigation found there was never any intention to bring a restaurant here despite all the promises from the developer and the City.

A quick check reveals money is the primary reason this has not rented out to any retail tenant.  At $13,000 per month and the encumbrance of a minimum five year lease, so far no retailer feels they can turn a profit at this location at that price.  On top of that, we found out recently the space was built back in 2015 in such a way as to preclude a restaurant, so says Megan Basso of Walnut Creek’s Lockehouse Realty, the retail broker assigned to the address.  Ms Basso has been trying to rent out the space to anybody for years, it’s just that no takers have surfaced she says. 

The storefront sits right on a park, with an outdoor seating
area adjacent to the green.  Perfect for a restaurant.

After publicly made verbal guarantees from Emeryville’s former Planning Director, Charlie Bryant to the whole community that a restaurant would rent out the space, we find out nine years later that was never going to happen.  Plumbing, HVAC and other infrastructure necessary for restaurant use with apartments above, was not designed into the space from the beginning, rendering the space unworkable for restaurant use.

Heading off any opposition from the community for the proposed development back in 2015, the City sweetened the pot by dangling a destination restaurant before the public.  The development proposal sailed through the approval process without substantial community objection.  That might have been the only use of the "restaurant" to the City (and the developer).   

This is the green just off the small plaza fronting the 
would-be restaurant.  Perfect for outdoor dining with kids.
But, protecting the developer, the City lied to us.

Restaurant or not, libertarians among us might wonder why the property owners don’t start lowering the rent until they get any taker; the whole supply and demand thing.  In reality, many if not most apartment tower owners in Emeryville (usually large real estate investment trust corporations) are not interested in renting out their storefront retail spaces and they just write it off as a loss for tax purposes.  It’s the same reason why the Sherwin Williams developer on Sherwin Street  (called ‘The Emery’), Lennar Corporation, hasn’t rented out the retail associated with that property.  After years of promising local neighborhood serving retail at both the Emery and Parc on Powell and after the City of Emeryville refused to get the assurances in writing, now these developers are letting the storefronts sit empty, bringing down the neighborhoods.  

This scenario has repeated itself over and over again over the years in Emeryville.  The only reason why there is retail storefront at each new apartment tower is because the Emeryville Planning Department is forcing the developers to put them in so they can sell the project to the public as a General Plan conforming ‘mixed use’ development.  After that planning box is checked, there’s nobody minding the store (so to speak) and the retail sits empty for decades as the developer takes his tax write off.

Director Bryant has since retired and was unavailable for comment for this story.

Mayor Welch Becomes the ‘Candace Owens’ of Emeryville, Lashing Out Against Critics

Mayor Courtney Welch Makes a Slashing Power Play For a Rare Political Opening

Lame Duck ‘Strongman of Emeryville’ John Bauters Leaves Political Vacuum Welch Seeks

Emeryville’s Mayor Goes on Bullying Offensive Against Her Constituents, Colleague and the Local Media

News Analysis

Emeryville residents might be wondering and alarmed at Mayor Courtney Welch’s increasing childish attacks against critics, especially her social media tirades against her council colleague Kalimah Priforce and the editors of both of Emeryville’s online news journals.  Giving away her pugilist and impolitic impulses, many citizens have noted how Mayor Welch finds comfort in unleashing streams of invective rhetoric against anyone with the temerity to challenge her. What many hoped the City’s recently adopted Code of Ethics would temper, Mayor Welch’s increasing attacks have continued undiminished, even increased.  This sort of divisive politics, rampant across much of America, has landed in Emeryville to the dismay of many.

Mayor Courtney Welch: Bully
Ask for accountability and wait for the fireworks.
All chaotic dysfunction mode all the time.
Regardless, she says she's "fighting for the people".
Which people?  Developer people?

The pettiness coming from Ms Welch may be illiberal but it is not without reason as it turns out.

After former mayor and indubitable ‘Strongman Leader of Emeryville’ John Bauters’ announcement in December that he would be seeking an Alameda County Supervisor Board seat, he  automatically vacates his council seat come November. This has created a gaping political vacuum of influence with potentially one of four council members to fill.  Ms Welch appears to be seizing the strongman position with her style of ‘mean girl cheerleader’ rancor against any would-be challengers.

The persistent brashness of relentless attacks by Mayor Welch serves to highlight the rare and seductive power that the unwritten position of ‘Strongman Leader of Emeryville’ embodies. Indeed, there have only been two of this archetype in Emeryville politics over the last 35 years; long term Council member Nora Davis (1987-2016) and John Bauters (2016-2024). Owing to our peculiar and seemingly entrenched political culture, since the mid 1980s, the Strongman Leader of Emeryville exercises unwarranted power over our town with the aid of a compliant, subservient council majority made up of sycophantic minions. 

In this way, both Davis and Bauters employed developer-friendly stances with no effective opposition.  Dissident Council members in the minority over the last 35 years have been progressive but ineffective.  Council member Priforce now serves as the lone dissenting progressive voice.  Through the 80s, 90s and 2000s, Jennifer West, Jac Asher, John Fricke and Greg Harper stood where Priforce currently stands, but Mr Priforce’s Brooklyn born scrapper-style bravado seems like a new kind of opposition. 

With a conspicuous onslaught of unprecedented public taunts and attacks against her critics online and in the council chambers, Ms Welch’s combative style is conjuring up the bad girl Candace Owens of Fox News fame - the bombastic political commentator that vilifies progressives and utilizes social media as her most powerful tool.

Notable is a fresh series of tweets against E’ville Eye editor Rob Arias who has been critical of her online behavior.  In the past, Mayor Welch outed Mr Arias online for defrauding Emeryville’s Below Market Rate (BMR) housing program, leaving herself open to investigations into her own BMR rental status to be challenged by the Emeryville Tattler after discovering inadequate reportings of her household income; violations which would have disqualified most people.


Lame Duck City Councilman John Bauters
He replaced Nora Davis as Strongman Leader
but now his star is beginning to set in Emeryville.




Attacks against Mr Priforce’s dissenting voice on the Council have emanated mostly from Council member Bauters, but notable is the co-joining and ramping up of attacks by Mayor Welch of late.  On numerous occasions, Ms. Welch has retweeted (the “X” platform formerly known as Twitter) Mr Priforce’s tweets with spurious charges thrown against him.  Regardless of provocation, Mr. Priforce, it should be noted, has never taken to social media to attack Ms. Welch, and has shown restraint from criticizing his colleague's posts.  

Given our town’s proclivity for enabling the ‘Strongman Leader of Emeryville’ role beyond that which is normal, it is easy to imagine how the Mayor’s recent power play will work out to her advantage.  The barrage of attacks against the local media and her lone progressive council colleague can be interpreted as a show of force directed at her remaining colleagues, Council members David Mourra and Sukhdeep Kaur.  Lacking the audacity of Mayor Welch, Mr Mourra and Ms Kaur are being expected to fall-in-line as her minions, as they did earlier for Mr Bauters.

Calling herself “A fighter for the people,” without specifying which people (corporate developers and landlords are people) and without recognizing the irony, the ambitious Courtney Welch, like John Bauters, is likely using the position of Strongman Leader of Emeryville, as a launching pad for her quest for higher political office beyond Emeryville.

After realizing the path was closed to her by way of the Oakland City Council in the city she lived up until two years ago, Ms Welch saw our town as a place where she could bide her time and build her name. Less than two months after moving to Emeryville she began her campaign for City Council.  Less than a year after winning, she along with former Council members Dianne Martinez and Ally Medina, requested a collegiality pledge from Democratically-endorsed candidates to sign, agreeing to always be respectful and courteous as Council members.  The promise for comity was short-lived after Priforce faced attacks of “sexism,” for suggesting that Welch or Medina be selected as mayor rather than a second term for Bauters.

In an attempt to decrease hostilities in City Hall, an Emeryville Code of Ethics, inspired by Emeryville residents Elizabeth Montgomery and Eugene Tssui, was adopted which all five Council members supported.  Regardless, Mayor Welch sees her next step is to become Strongman Leader of Emeryville now that John Bauters will be leaving us and she feels the best way forward is to publicly attack all critics.

From Emeryville’s Code of Ethics:

“The professional and personal conduct of Council Members must be above reproach and avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Members shall refrain from abusive conduct, personal charges or verbal attacks upon the character or motives of other Members, the public, and staff. This requirement is applicable to Members at all times.”

“The constant and consistent theme through all of the conduct guidelines is “respect.” Members are called upon to exhibit appropriate behavior at all times.  Demonstrating respect for each individual through words and actions is the touchstone that can help guide Members to take appropriate action even in the most difficult situations.  In all cases, this common goal should be acknowledged even though individuals may “agree to disagree” on contentious issues.”

Below is just a small sampling of the witty repartee from our Emeryville mayor (dishonor yourself much?).  It's all about punching down and remaining unaccountable.  It's too bad our Code of Ethics has no teeth.

Mayor Welch can't stand journalists that hold her to account.

How convenient!  What other pol also trashes journalists?  

Hint: initials are DJT.