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Sutter Medical Group May Buy Skyview Drive-In
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Sutter Medical Group May Buy Skyview Drive-In
By Michael Thomas
For a community that hosts vintage car shows and cultivates the image of a vintage California surf town, a drive-in movie theater adds an undeniable dash of retro charm. The Skyview Drive-In on Soquel Avenue adjacent to Highway 1 has held that role since 1949, but it may not last. The popular weekly flea market has operated on the site since the early 1970s.
The Skyview â€" which is the last remaining drive-in theater on the Central Coast â€" could be sold within the year to Sutter Santa Cruz, which operates a nearby surgical hospital and maternity center.
Sutter officials hope to locate a new medical facility on the 14-acre property, providing much-needed space for additional doctors to serve the community.
Sutter spokesman Ben Drew said that negotiations are ongoing with the Skyview’s present owners, Evelyn Martin and her brother-in-law Marvin Martin.
“We are hoping that by the end of this summer we will have an agreement,” Drew said. “This evolved out of some mutual discussions over the past year or so.”
Sutter has been renting a handful of parking spaces at the drive-in for employees to use during weekday hours. The drive-in is adjacent to property that the private network of physicians already owns.
Sutter operates a 30-bed hospital, the Santa Cruz Medical Foundation, an in-home care service, and maternity, surgery and hospice facilities.
Drew said the organization aims to grow in the coming years, and the drive-in land could play a key role.
“We would look to increase the number of primary care physicians in the area,” he said. Sutter currently has 43 primary care doctors, 16 urgent care physicians and more than 70 specialists on staff. It is the largest physician organization of its kind in Santa Cruz County.
Drive-In Has Been Eyed for Development Before
This isn’t the first time a private buyer has shown interest in the drive-in, which occupies a rare, large tract of centrally located land. Home Depot quietly investigated the drive-in as a potential location before securing the former Kmart site on 41st Avenue.
In the 1990s, the Soquel School District toyed with the idea of acquiring the site to construct a school.
Even earlier, in 1989, the County’s Redevelopment Agency had plans to purchase the drive-in and turn the space over to Capitola auto dealers for use as a sales plaza. That plan drew fierce opposition from flea market vendors and buyers, according to County Supervisor Jan Beautz, who fought the project.
“The County was going to buy that property and give it to the car dealers,” Beautz said. “I didn’t agree with using redevelopment money to do that.”
However, Beautz said the current sale proposal is probably beyond the control of County officials.
“It’s probably zoned to allow what they [Sutter] want to do. I can see the sense of having medical buildings together,” she said. “It’s a loss but I am not sure if it’s a loss we can do anything about.”
Beautz believes the decision will rest with the property owners.
“People really like those things [the drive-in and flea market] but you need to have a property owner that’s willing to provide them,” Beautz added.
Property Not Listed for Sale
The Martin family has owned the Skyview for decades. The property has not been listed for sale, and the owners have given developers the cold shoulder in the past. As local movie theaters go, the drive-in offers first-run films at a bargain.
The price of an adult ticket for a double feature has recently been reduced to $6.
During the flea markets which run from Friday to Saturday, hundreds of vendors pay stall fees ranging from $15 to $35 depending on the day. Admission ranges from $1 to $2.50.
The Martins could not be reached for comment, but Sutter’s Drew said they have expressed a desire to see the present uses continue.
“We have agreed that nothing will happen on the site within the next few years, so the drive-in and flea market will continue for a couple years,” Drew said. He said it will take time for Sutter to develop plans, but if the sale proceeds later this year, the County’s last drive-in theater may have only a few summers left.
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