Lucky’s Market has brought new life to what was once a nearly vacant plaza.
Verde Plaza, located at the corner of Northwest 13th Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue, has been transformed into a thriving shopping center and is now filled with new customers.
Dan Anson, 40, owner and chief operating officer of Planet Fitness, said about five years ago a lot of businesses were leaving the area and relocating to Archer Road.
“I hate to throw around the word blight, but it was pretty close to that description,” said Anson. “Lucky’s has certainly had an impact on the plaza.”
Jean S. Cortes, tax specialist & seasonal office manager for H&R Block in the shopping center, said prior to Lucky’s opening, the plaza was almost vacant.
Lucky’s has brought attention to neighboring businesses, Anson said, estimating that the plaza is about 90 percent full now.
“If somebody from maybe outside of our approximate trade area has come across town to go to Lucky’s, it leads them to some of the other businesses here in the plaza,” he said.
Cortes has noticed many types of clientele in the shopping center since the opening of Lucky’s Market.
“Our numbers are up, and year over year we are doing better and pacing faster,” Cortes said.
However, the lack of available parking has caused problems for the other businesses.
“The volume of the traffic makes it so that there are really no places to park,” Cortes said.
This lack of available parking also brings up safety concerns for her and other Verde Plaza businesses that close late in the evening.
“We make sure that we walk to our cars in teams because we are leaving at 9 or 10 o’clock at night and cannot park in proximity to the storefront,” Cortes said. “I want to make sure that my team is safe.”
She put up a list of Gainesville Police’s nonemergency telephone numbers if employees ever need assistance.
However, Cortes added, “They are wonderful neighbors, and they have brought vibrancy to the plaza. I applaud, I welcome them, and I wish them success.”
Betsy Whitaker, president of Asset Management, has been the property manager of Verde Plaza for almost 20 years and has seen the amount of patrons fluctuate over time.
Whitaker said the mixture of individuals going to Planet Fitness for the New Year and the Lucky’s Market grand opening has filled up the parking lot, but she said there is parking in the back of the plaza.
“I think in the short term it may be frustrating for consumers to get their parking space,” Anson said, “but in the long term I believe everyone is going to benefit from Lucky’s Market being here.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 2/11/2015 under the headline “Lucky’s Market revives Verde Plaza, complicates parking"]
