What Should Happen To This Empty Storefront?

There's a vacant building at 1412/1414 El Centro Street across the street from 's parking lot.

Have you seen it? 

Patch recently featured it in Where in South Pas is Patch?

The building was built in around 1951, and is now owned by AT&T.

Here's some history per South Pas Director of Planning & Building, David Watkins: 

AT&T owns that property, which is located behind its switching facility on Mission Street.

In 2006, AT&T requested a Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of a parking lot that would provide 7 more parking spaces for the employees at AT&T’s switching facility. 

The proposal was to demolish that building along with a house that was right behind it. The Planning Commission denied that request for a parking lot expansion for the following reasons:

•     South Pasadena’s General Plan (Guideline 1.8) encourages the exploration of shared parking and parking access. The applicant indicated in public hearing, that the proposed parking lot would not be available for a shared parking agreement with surrounding land uses that now have insufficient parking.

•     The parking lot expansion does not encourage employees to consider alternate modes of transportation (i.e. carpooling, walking, bicycling, mass transit, etc). This in turn is injurious to the general welfare of the City in terms of increased air pollution related to additional motor vehicle trips to the site.

•     The parking lot expansion would deviate from the City’s goals of creating a pedestrian-oriented downtown district. The parking lot is not an aesthetic improvement to the El Centro Streetscape.

Ultimately, AT&T decided not to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision. AT&T demolished the home, but has decided not to lease the commercial building. 

Prior to AT&T's ownership, the building has also been home to a barber shop, a flower shop, and South Stampadena—a business that sold rubber stamps, ink pads and office supplies. 

Most recently,  set up an office there to display a model of the downtown project. 

But it's been vacant since 2006. 

So today, Patch asks: Were you around to see this building transform over the years? Should AT&T lease it? And if so, what would you like to see pop up next?

Let us know what you think, and we'll feature the best comments in a follow-up post!