Luck won’t Fill the Lucky.
Hard Work Will.
My Plan for filling the Lucky Supermarket
Three and a Half Years
That's how long the old Lucky supermarket has sat empty. For a city like Larkspur, that's not just an eyesore. It's a missed opportunity, a gap in our downtown, and a genuine inconvenience for residents who now make extra trips to Corte Madera or San Rafael for groceries.
The explanation from City Hall — that this is a complicated property situation and there's not much to be done — isn't satisfying. Complicated isn't the same as impossible. It just requires more work.
Why is this taking so long?
Albertsons owns the old Lucky building and has a straightforward financial interest in keeping that site empty: their Safeway in Corte Madera benefits as long as there's no nearby competitor. From their perspective, it's a reasonable business decision.
It's not a reasonable outcome for Larkspur.
Albertsons is making a calculated choice. The city's job is to change that calculation.
Make holding it vacant more costly than letting it go.
Right now, Albertsons bears essentially no cost for leaving the building empty. A well-structured commercial vacancy tax changes that math. Done right, with real penalties and limited exemptions, it creates genuine pressure to lease, sell, or redevelop. Several California cities have used this tool effectively. Larkspur should too.
At the same time, Albertsons is a publicly traded company in a highly competitive industry that cares about its reputation. A coordinated media effort, inviting the Chronicle and local TV to cover the story of a corporation keeping a community's grocery store deliberately dark, is legitimate public accountability. The city should pass a formal resolution calling on Albertsons to act and make clear we're not going to let this issue go unaddressed.
The long-term opportunity.
The Lucky site and the neighboring strip mall together are a significant piece of our downtown. Developed well, that block could be something genuinely great for Larkspur: housing above active ground-floor retail, anchored by a full-service grocery store. That's the kind of walkable, community-serving development that strengthens downtown and gives more people a reason to be here.
That vision takes time. It's worth pursuing alongside near-term pressure, not instead of it.
My commitment
A commercial vacancy tax with real teeth, targeted appropriately to not hurt mom-and-pop commercial properties
A coordinated public campaign inviting media scrutiny of Albertsons' decision
Active recruitment of grocery and retail tenants
A long-term redevelopment plan that brings housing and a grocery anchor to that block
Larkspur deserves better than a huge empty building in the heart of downtown. But it’s going to take real work. If elected to City Council, consider me signed up.