Farmer Joe's, a small but widely known fruit and natural foods market in the Laurel district, is in negotiations to open a store in the nearby Dimond district.

If it does, it will have the support of several Dimond area residents who say the district would benefit if the market takes over the old Albertsons grocery on Fruitvale Avenue near MacArthur Boulevard.

"A lot of merchants and the neighborhood are banding together to get them here because we really feel like it would be a boost for the whole area," said KT Graham of Paradise Books, an independent bookstore across the street from the site.

Albertsons pulled out of the neighborhood more than two years ago, leaving a large, empty store in the heart of the Dimond. Several months passed as city officials negotiated with Trader Joe's, a chain grocery store and Farmer Joe's, the nearby market. Trader Joe's rejected the site.

Hoang Banh, Dimond Improvement Association chairwoman, said Albertsons still holds the lease on the site and does not want to sublet it to another grocery store. Crazy John's, a discount food and gifts store, took over Albertsons' lease and set up shop last year.

"It came as a shock to people when they found out (Farmer Joe's wasn't) coming in," she said. "People still have their hearts set on Farmer Joe's."

Albertsons' lease, and therefore Crazy John's sublease, will expire in early December, said property owner David Seyranian. He said he is in negotiations with Farmer Joe's about the property but would not elaborate.

Banh and Dimond Improvement Association webmaster Timothy Chapman asked residents to discuss the issue in an online forum dedicated to the Dimond district, and they received a flood of responses.

Real estate agent Arthur White lives in the Dimond but sells property in Berkeley. He often names the Berkeley Bowl Marketplace as one of the top selling points on his listings and said Farmer Joe's could bring such recognition to the Dimond.

"I think it can become a kind of nexus, a point of identification," he said.

Plus, he said, it is a great place to shop.

"It just feels like a very friendly place to get your food as opposed to the supermarket," he said.

The Dimond has been changing dramatically the past few years.

The Hillcrest Motel, a maligned residential hotel that attracted crime and drug dealing, was closed because of neighborhood pressure. A new development with low-income senior housing, Lincoln Courts, will start construction in late summer.

The Altenheim, a century-old retirement home, closed two years ago after its board decided it wanted to pull out of the business. A nonprofit development company, Citizen's Housing Corp., plans to redevelop the site and reopen the Altenheim as housing for low-income seniors.

In a recent survey taken by the city auditor's office, Dimond residents said they want more services, restaurants and food markets in their area.

Farmer Joe's would fill some of those wants, said City Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel), adding that she could not discuss the status of the negotiations.

In recent months, the Dimond district has welcomed several new businesses, including Curves, Paws and Claws and Pho Saigon.

The Dimond Improvement Association is also working to bring a farmers market to the neighborhood.