Council Approves Price Club Opening Where Gateway Marketplace Stood

The City Council on Tuesday approved the opening of a new members-only Price Club in Southeast San Diego on property that formerly housed the Gateway Marketplace, which was forced to close after operating only nine months.

Councilman Wes Pratt, whose district includes Southeast San Diego, called the prospects of the Price Club succeeding where the Gateway Marketplace supermarket failed “considerably better.” Pratt and other supporters of the new Price Club argue that the retail outlet will have a “regional draw” of customers that will benefit the economically depressed area.

Ownership Transferred

The San Diego College of Retailing, a private, nonprofit business, owned the Marketplace. Under the terms of an agreement approved by the council, the college transferred ownership to the Price Club, which in return agreed to let the college stay in the building when it is refurbished. The school has agreed to include at least 25 young people from Southeast San Diego in its training classes each year. Pratt said the college will honor this commitment for 10 years.

Price Club officials have also agreed to make 4,000 square feet of building space available for small, minority-owned businesses in the renovated complex. The officials have also pledged to hire people from the area, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the city, Pratt said.

“The problem with the original Gateway Marketplace was that it couldn’t draw enough people from the community to support it. The Price Club has a regional draw that will bring people from throughout the county to the area. . . . Southeast San Diego can benefit from this influx because some of these customers will also shop here. . . . I look at this as an opportunity to continue to build the economic base in my district,” Pratt said.

$10 Million in Sales

According to Pratt, initial estimates show that the Price Club will generate about $10 million in sales and $600,000 in sales-tax revenue.

Pratt said he still wants to attract a major supermarket to Southeast San Diego.

“I’m hoping that the Price Club will be a signal to other investors to invest in the area. This is a major development and we hope that it can lead to a supermarket eventually opening in the area,” said Pratt.

Pratt said he is not sure when the Price Club will open, but said it will be before the end of the year. Price Club officials could not be reached for comment.

Marketplace opened last year with much fanfare and a $3.5-million donation from Price Co. Chairman Sol Price, founder of the Price Club, and 6 acres from the city. Supporters of the supermarket hoped that it would play a major role in the revitalization of Southeast San Diego by providing jobs and a badly needed supermarket.

The store was closed in September, after officials announced that it was not getting the support of the community.