Los Gatos hardware store may not be demolished for housing

An Ace Hardware store in Los Gatos set to be demolished for a mixed-use development might instead be incorporated into the project.

Arya Properties LLC in May submitted an application for a mixed-use development with seven stories containing 182 residential units and commercial space on the ground floor and roof at 15300 and 15330 Los Gatos Blvd. The plans call for the Ace Hardware on the site to be demolished. Community members and neighbors at a June town council meeting strongly opposed both the potential loss of the store and the increased traffic and safety concerns that such a large development could bring.

Kurt Anderson, the project’s architect, said the developer has since spoken to the store’s owners and is planning to design the building to accommodate the store, though it’s not a guarantee just yet.

“It is their intent to have Ace remain in that location,” Anderson said.

The town received revised plans for the project on Sept. 2, which still state that the developer plans to demolish all buildings on the project site. It also states that the project will include three levels of basement parking, and a restaurant and bar on the roof of the building.

Dené Kankel, one of the owners of Ace Hardware, wrote in a letter to the town council that the three signs the town put up near the store notifying people of the development proposal have already hurt employee morale and jeopardize its continued success, since she said the store still has 13 years left on its lease.

“Let me say that nothing says ‘Going out of business’ more than three large signs on all sides of the property,” the letter reads.

Kankel did not return a request for comment.

The letter, dated July 10, was included as an attachment to an agenda item at an Aug. 20 town council meeting where the council discussed the guidelines it follows to notify members of the community of proposed housing developments that invoke certain state laws, including builder’s remedy.

In submitting its project application, Arya Properties invoked builder’s remedy, a provision of state law that allows for approval of developments of any size and height in the absence of an approved housing element. The state approved Los Gatos’s housing element after Arya submitted its original application.