REI has struck a deal to open a new store in Dublin next year, the company said Thursday, a move that extends a fast-expanding string of new retailers for the East Bay.
The retailer, formally known as Recreational Equipment Inc., will open the Dublin store this coming fall, REI said. The outlet will become the 11th Bay Area store for the company.
REI intends to hire 50 people to work at the 24,000-square-foot store in Dublin, the retailer said. The lease deal was arranged through Lee & Associates, a commercial realty firm.
“One of the biggest reasons we’re opening this store is we have more than 42,500 members within 15 miles of the new Dublin location,” said Bethany Hawley, a spokeswoman for REI. That radius could include the communities of San Ramon, Danville, Livermore and Pleasanton.
Seattle-based REI operates stores in 10 Bay Area cities: Fremont, Concord, Brentwood, Berkeley, San Francisco, Corte Madera, Santa Rosa, San Carlos, Mountain View and Saratoga.
“REI has been honored to outfit outdoor enthusiasts in the Bay Area since 1975 through our store in Berkeley,” said Tim Spangler, REI’s vice president of retail.
Founded in 1938, REI is the nation’s largest consumer cooperative; 3.9 million members have paid a one-time $20 feet to join the co-op. The retailer sells high-end gear, clothing and footwear. REI outfits people for an array of activities, including climbing, kayaking, skiing, hiking, bicycling and camping.
“Getting an REI out here will benefit not only Dublin, but also the entire Tri-Valley,” said Linda Maurer, Dublin’s economic development director.
The future REI location — at 7099 Amador Plaza Road, between Dublin Boulevard and Amador Valley Boulevard — wasn’t the first location in that city that the company had scouted in its quest for a new store.
“REI has always had a very strong interest in getting into this market,” said Patric Davis, a principal executive with the Lee & Associates brokerage. “REI had deals for two other locations in Dublin that didn’t develop.”
She said she is not surprised that retailers want to get into this part of the East Bay.
“The 580-680 corridor is very attractive to retailers,” Davis said. “You have good accessibility, good sites, good parcels of land, a good consumer base.”
She noted that several other retailers have jumped into the Dublin market lately. Among the recent deals that have brought new retailers into Dublin: Sports Authority, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Half-Price Books and Sprouts Farmers Market.
Elsewhere, Henry’s Farmers Market, Fresh & Easy and Foods Co. are planning new stores in various parts of the Bay Area, including the East Bay, that will bring hundreds of new jobs to the nine-county region.
“It’s a good sign that retailers are starting to expand in this economy,” Davis said.
What’s more, several of the deals are filling up long-shuttered buildings once occupied by retailers that imploded and vanished during the recession. Sports Authority took half of the former Mervyn’s building, and Sprouts and Jo-Ann Fabrics are taking the one-time Circuit City store.
In the REI instance, the retailer will lease a site that once expected to be a fireplace store but instead became engulfed in development delays and a foreclosure.
Walnut Creek-based Laconia Development bought the future REI site from the lender that had foreclosed on the property. Laconia intends to tear down the unfinished building and construct a one-story REI store from scratch.
For Dublin, the recent deals are a hopeful sign that the city has gradually begun to repair the damage from the economic downturn that left plenty of empty buildings in the wreckage.
“We have some holes to fill in Dublin,” Maurer said. “We are very excited about the progress we have been able to make in getting these vacancies filled.”
Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477.
