The biggest change to the block was covered in post #6 - the multi-use pile called "Nanda on Pacific". Since then, I've been watching the two retail spaces that face PacAve. Both are still awaiting their first tenants, which is not surprising while we're still in the COVID upheaval.
While admiring the nice ironwork of a gate set into the facade at the Lulu's end of the Nanda building (photo to be added here later), I was pleasantly surprised to realize that the space behind that gate is exterior - not inside the building as it appears from the sidewalk. A flight of steps leads up to an outdoor landing, from which the old brickwork of the Lulu's building wall remains visible. Unfortunately, only residents with a key to the gate can get up to that landing, but you can get a peek from outside the gate.
It's nice to know that wall view will remain as a reminder of what we had to look at for almost 30 years as the site sat empty after the 1989 earthquake demolitions, including the bolted-on wood framing that once attached the 1899 Williamson & Garrett building floors and roof to the Lulu's wall.
A somewhat older change is the loss of longtime fixture Benten Japanese restaurant at 1541B, on the corner of Plaza Lane. Benten closed in 2019, replaced by a restaurant named Barceloneta (Spanish food maybe? - haven't checked the menu), which has now reopened.
Across the street at #1532 is one of the rare new businesses to open on PacAve since the COVID shutdown began. Leaf & Vine specializes in house plants, something all those new Nanda apartment dwellers will need. The new store replaced the venerable Judi Wyant Antiques, which posted notice that its business has gone entirely online.
Locations in the Santa Cruz Changes blog can be found on this Google Map.
