Adams Avenue May Be on the Road to Recovery

Thirty years ago--before anybody ever thought about building Interstate 8 or developing Mission Valley--Adams Avenue, El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue were considered stylish gateways to downtown San Diego--thriving centers of commerce buffered by affordable and attractive residential streets.

“There was always a good mix of people there,” Councilwoman Gloria McColl recalled. “But still, it was considered by a lot of people to be the place to live.” Even McColl, whose roots in Mid-City run deep, admits the area has stagnated. It was left behind in the rush to build up Mission Valley after the freeway was constructed, she says.

The furniture stores and automobile lots that looked so impressive in the ‘30s have taken on a tacky tinge in Mid-City, the area bounded by California 163 on the west, the La Mesa border to the east, California 94 on the south and Fairmount Boulevard, Montezuma Road, Collwood Boulevard and Adams on the north.

Construction in the area “quite often was not planned with the good of the community in mind,” McColl said. The large number of inexpensive small apartments that replaced stately old single-family homes were bursting at the seams with young families who could not afford more space.

Parks were scarce--nearly all of the open space had been built on--and there were complaints about poor city services and overcrowded schools.

“It became clear that Mid-City was being allowed to deteriorate,” McColl said. “But there is no reason it should not receive as much attention as La Jolla and Rancho Bernardo. We’ve got to uphold the kind of quality planning you see in those communities throughout the city.”

At a City Council hearing, residents repeatedly complained about “outrageous developments and streets that are not even passable.” And although Mid-City merchants and residents inevitably point to the large number of longtime families who have retired in the area, nobody seemed to have enough community pride to spruce up the neighborhoods.

Ben Aberg was a good example. For almost 22 years, he owned the Little Bit of Sweden restaurant on El Cajon, and it enjoyed a good reputation and was frequented by a loyal clientele. Particularly considering his surroundings, Aberg never saw any reason to fuss over his restaurant’s decor or outward appearance.

But Aberg started to hear talk about a revitalized Mid-City, with distinctive business centers like those in Mission Hills or Hillcrest, and he decided to jump on the bandwagon. In the last year, Aberg has expanded his dining room and added a lot of new touches--beamed ceilings, bayview windows, landscaping and a new outer facade. Now, when McColl stumps for revitalization of Mid-City, she mentions businesses like Aberg’s.

There are other examples as well--Rosie O’Grady’s, a popular night spot on Adams, the old Lafayette Hotel on El Cajon and the Campus Plaza Shopping Center.

“There are a number of examples where entrepreneurs are showing new confidence in Mid-City,” McColl said. “It’s a case of the private sector investing its own money to improve the area.

“Mid-City’s problems were created by people, and there’s no reason people can’t work together to solve them. It was once a beautiful community, and we can restore the vigor it once had.”

Merchants on Adams have formed their own improvement area, following the lead of their counterparts on El Cajon. More than $200,000 in city block grant money has been spent on street landscaping and improvements along Adams.

Sharon Trevino, 29, is among the enthusiastic new business owners on Adams, but when she made her investment in the area three years ago it was largely because “it was the only decent place around where we could afford to pay the rent.” With other family members, Trevino bought and operates the Adams Avenue Pet Shop and Lou Jones Inn, a bar and hamburger spot three doors away.

Trevino, who was raised here, was hardly among Adams’ boosters when she opened her businesses. She found the buildings antiquated. “There was no way I would have gone out on Adams three years ago at night,” she said.

But as she was moving to add some modern touches to her businesses, she noticed her neighbors were doing the same. Now, the blocks of Adams just west of Interstate 805 form the kind of full-service neighborhood McColl has in mind when she envisions Mid-City’s future. “It used to be the type of neighborhood where you raised a family within walking distance from your business, and everything you needed was right nearby,” she said. “That’s what we should strive for again.”

Along Adams you can buy bicycles, camera equipment, pets, motorcycles, groceries, books and liquor, and receive personal services ranging from food and drink to medical treatment to a haircut.

“It’s a nice mix,” Trevino said. “And I’ve noticed just in the last year that people are keeping their businesses a lot cleaner and adding canopies and doing painting and that kind of thing. And the new landscaping really helps. It’s nice to have some trees and new touches on the old, brick buildings.”

Government also will play a critical role in deciding the fate of Mid-City. Last year, the City Council set strict new zoning standards to guide future development in the area, with an eye toward attracting high-quality growth and economic revitalization.

When the council approved the plan, it was in hopes that the many businesses along Adams, El Cajon and University would be motivated to undertake revitalizations similar to Abergs’ and Trevino’s and encourage, according to the council report, “high-density, pedestrian-oriented” retail and commercial building.

“It’s a slow process, turning around what was a deteriorating neighborhood,” Trevino said.

“There is still a lot of junk that has to go,” Aberg said. “And we have to keep upgrading if the area is going to get anywhere. But things are on the upswing around here. Young families are buying the homes again. And the retired people seem to have pretty good incomes.”

Ted Pendleton, an administrator at Villa View Hospital and head of the Mid-City Chamber of Commerce, said, “A lot of the people are refurbishing and updating their storefronts. Things look a lot more positive than they did two years ago.

“There is still some blight here, and there are great concerns about traffic, parking and quality of housing. But people are starting to respond.”