Steak house is done
Despite a pending eminent domain court case, another stake in South Lake Tahoe’s path of redevelopment will soon fall to make way for a road serving the city’s proposed transit center.
Paul Kennedy’s, a popular steakhouse located at the state line, is due to come down by Friday, the demolition contractor and city confirmed Wednesday.
The restaurant owned by Sacramento lawyer John Thomas celebrated its last bash at Park Avenue a week ago. On Wednesday, empty beer kegs and other debris littered the floor waiting for an excavating tractor to knock the gutted building down. A crew from Sterling-Holloway of Auburn will work at the site today to prepare the building.
“Anything of value we try to salvage, but this was pretty much bare bones,” David Holloway said. Dump trucks will haul the debris away at the conclusion of the $19,000 demolition job situated on the northeast corner of the Marriott-anchored project.
“This is definitely a big plus for the community,” said Ghassan Zebdaoui, city civil engineer.
In 1983, steakhouse property owner Edward Silva paid $16,000 for the 60-foot by 250-foot parcel, which has now become the subject of a yearlong eminent domain case between the city and three other parties.
As one era ends, another begins.
The city, Silva, Thomas and the lease holder have been negotiating in Sacramento Superior Court over the final terms of the sale, one of three pending eminent domain cases the city’s redevelopment agency is working on.
Cecil’s Inc., a Nevada LLC, took over the parcel involving Paul Kennedy’s last May for an undisclosed amount, the El Dorado County Assessor’s Office reported.
A sign facing Highway 50 marks the path of progress, declaring retail space available in the proposed Cecil’s Fountain Plaza. It includes Cecil’s Market next to the proposed Transit Way, which will run through where the restaurant now stands alongside Embassy Suites.
Plans show the road linking Highway 50 with Van Sickle Road to accommodate a transit center, which is expected to begin construction in June.
Design Workshop will oversee the landscaping, which is expected to include native plants.
“There are plants they’re using that I’ve never heard of,” Zebdaoui said.
Contact Susan Wood at swood@swiftnews.com or 530-542-8009.
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