Sunset Cliffs and Voltaire – Plaza Construction Takes Off

After months – and even years – of delays the construction at the intersection of Voltaire Street and Sunset Cliffs has taken off.  Over the last few days, the steel has arrived. I-beams and cross-beams have been installed – and you can now see the basic shape of the building.

It’s Sunset Plaza – coming to the busy intersection – thanks to World Oil, the owner of the lot.

Over the years, World Oil, had made numerous attempts to bring a gas station to the corner, but the concept had been opposed by the community. Several large town hall meetings at the OB Rec Center were held on the gas station with hundreds in attendance coming out vocally against it; the OB Planning Board opposed it a number of times; and the city determined that the lot wasn’t large enough for the station.

Finally, World Oil changed its plans. It bought the lot next door and torn down the old Dover Plumbing building – giving them more room and moved on constructing a 2-story commercial building. After the corporation toned down the outlandish original design, they won approval for Sunset Plaza.

The 2008 recession cooled the process down, but the lot has seen some activity over the last few months.

World Oil’s original design of Sunset Plaza.

Then this week a crane was brought in – and – boom! – the plaza has definitely taken its shape as one of the largest buildings on Voltaire Street.  One can now get a sense of the impact on that intersection and even this part of OB that the new building and its business tenants will have.

There are rumors that the vegetarian restaurant Evolution will be moving in downstairs – but our calls to the business have not been answered.

There’s an interesting history behind this particular corner lot. It’s been OB’s “corner of contention“. Once a gas station, it became a recycling center, then a guerrilla community garden – and then for years, a fenced-in, ugly vacate yard collecting campaign signs and trash.

This is all more sign of the post-Great Recession construction blitz coming down in OB and the surrounding beach area.