Tidyman’s May Be Nearing Start Of Argonne Store

Tidyman’s Warehouse Foods could begin construction of its new store on Argonne Road this month.

Jeff Forry, senior building technician with the county division of buildings, said plans are still being reviewed, but he expects crews to begin foundation work in about two weeks.

The 43,500-square-foot store will be located at 2024 N. Argonne, just south of a Burger King restaurant. The building site was formerly home to the Inland Empire Baptist Temple, a feed lot and a caretaker’s house. Tidyman’s has said the store will cost about $6 million to build and stock.

County records show that the project includes a 311-space parking lot and future plans for two other retail buildings, with square footage totaling 22,000 feet. Those retail spaces are part of the project’s second phase, and have not yet been submitted for approval, Forry said.

The store will be Tidyman’s second in the Valley.

Tidyman’s announced its plans last fall. In December 1994, the county hearing examiner committee approved the company’s request to consolidate the parcels that made up the six-acre building site and zone it for commercial use. The multiple parcels had been zoned differently.

Shortly after, GVL Investors Partnership, the San Francisco-based company that owns Argonne Village, tried to appeal the decision. GVL claimed the store would generate more traffic than Argonne could handle.

The appeal was dropped early this year after Tidyman’s disclosed a study showing traffic flow wouldn’t be adversely affected by the store.

Former Wee Willie’s renovated

Campbell Commercial and Industrial Real Estate is renovating a building at 9300 E. Sprague, the former site of Wee Willie’s Vacuums.

The vacuum dealer was there for 15 years. Wee Willie’s moved to 314 S. Pines this summer after losing its lease.

Sam Campbell, owner of the real estate company, said he will lease the bottom floor of the building as 1,120 square feet of office space. Campbell will continue to use the top floor for his own offices.

The project should be completed in about 30 days, he said. Some work has already been done to the front of the building, including a new Campbell Construction sign. When a tenant is found for the bottom floor, a second sign will also be added.

Campbell said he hopes to find a tenant offering some type of business or real estate services. “We’d love to find someone else complimentary to us,” Campbell said.

, DataTimes