AT&T Seeks Approvals to Open New Store in OceanView Village

AT&T is seeking to open a new retail store in OceanView Village, the shopping center anchored by popular Korean supermarket H Mart on Alemany Boulevard.

AT&T held a preliminary meeting on April 12 at the vacant storefront to give neighbors a chance to weigh in on how it would impact the area, including concerns over traffic, noise and hiring locals. The meeting is required for the company to get authorization to open a chain store, called formula retail, under city policy.

"We welcome businesses who want to move in, so we aren't fighting them," said Marc Christensen, president of the Merced Extension Triangle Neighborhood Association.

The 1,700-square-foot store would be located on the east end of the shopping center in spaces formerly occupied by a dental office and Hertz beside current tenants Extreme Pizza and Subway.

Christensen said he urged AT&T to stop construction by 8 p.m for the residents who live above and asked that the store's lights be turned off at night for the neighbors who live directly across the street from the shopping center.

AT&T is definitely moving in, but the permitting will likely slow them down, Christensen said.

AT&T's representative did not respond to an interview request by press time.

The Texas-based multinational telecommunications company is the third-largest provider of mobile telephone service.

The addition of AT&T is the latest signal that the shopping center has ben revived. Milk tea drink purveyor 7 Leaves Cafe will be moving into the old Post News storefront, and that the H Mart expansion is also moving forward.