ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — Escondido invested millions of dollars into Grand Avenue, and while some businesses report booming sales, several commercial buildings remain vacant.
In 2024, the Escondido City Council approved an ordinance to charge property owners of vacant commercial buildings an annual fee. Mayor Dane White said property owners would have to pay about $4,400 annually. The fee was set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025, but it still has not taken effect.
WATCH| Jane Kim talks to local sales associates about vacant buildings along Grand Avenue
According to the city, if a property owner does not want to rent out their building, they do not have to. There is currently no penalty for an empty building, and there is not much the city can do about it.
White pointed to a building downtown as an example of the problem.
"Escondido has, and in particular downtown where we're standing right in front of one, it's been chronically vacant for decades, and that's what we're trying to take care of," White said.
Whitney Dodd and Richard Miller are sales associates at the Escondido Antique Mall on Grand Avenue. While their business is booming, buildings across the street sit empty.
"Our sales have been the best they have been in 42 years," Dodd said.
"They’ve been vacant for years," Dodd said.
"Most of them are very large, so, to try to find a tenant for that may be a little bit more difficult," Miller said.
ABC 10News filed a public records request asking the city for a count of vacant buildings on Grand Avenue and how long each has been empty. The city responded in an email saying it is working to collect that information.
We also reached out to the Chamber of Commerce about the issue.
"These empty buildings are a challenge we take seriously not just for the look of our downtown but for the economic vitality of our entire community," a spokesperson said.
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