Albertsons building owners want 'for sale' cars off lot

When Steve Stanley met a potential tenant Monday at the vacant Albertsons building on Monday, he wasn't exactly shocked to see more than 20 cars on the huge lot that had "for sale" signs on them.

"I really didn't care at first, to be honest," said Stanley, director of leasing for South Star, the Memphis-based company that bought the building after the grocery store closed in March 2002.

Then, after he thought about it a bit longer, he became concerned about any liability that South Star might have for vehicles on its property.

"I don't want somebody to get hurt or the car to get destroyed and the owner come back and say we're responsible," Stanley said. "And obviously, at some point, it does become an eye sore with campers and RVs sitting up there."

Now, South Star wants the cars off the lot. They're having "no parking" signs made up, which Stanley expects to be in place within a week. If those signs are ignored, the cars will be towed at the owners' expense.

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," he said. "Hopefully, the signs will take care of the problem."

By Wednesday, there were still five cars on the lot, though a few of the owners said they would remove them within a matter of days when they heard of South Star's objections.

Dan Phillips admits he put a 1997 Mitsubishi Diamonte on the lot. He owns nearby Budget Blinds, which is across the street from the Albertsons building.

"I know it's a high traffic area and we saw other vehicles there so we thought it was OK," Phillips said. "I know that it's not legal. But I assumed they would have called."

Phillips planned to have the car gone by the weekend.

"It really hasn't turned out to be the greatest spot anyway," Phillips said. "It's been there a month and I've only gotten two calls."

The parking lot may get more legal use soon. Stanley said Albertsons is about two weeks from making an announcement about leasing at least a portion of the building.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137