I know exactly where you were. And while you probably did manage to choose the second-worst spot in town, it isn't very bad and most likely you were not at much risk. I've been working on a project near there for the past few years and have spent way too much time in that town, have even walked through that particular lot in the evening on the way to the Safeway next door. Have never had an issue.
There are usually some homeless dudes living out of their cars behind the boarded up store, and they wander around the lot when they get bored. There's some petty theft and drug buys, mostly meth, some heroin. More homeless come in from Pacific Shores six miles away (the worst spot in town, and my project site) to beg/borrow/steal enough for their next fix and often hang around that lot for a while.
Example of a recent interaction: A few days ago I was getting a couple of scientists started on post-construction monitoring at Pacific Shores, where we removed 11 acres of old roads in a failed 1964 subdivision as mitigation for airport improvements. Halfway through the day a guy came walking toward us, I know who he is, he's done time for attempted murder, took several shots at another homeless dude and missed. I walked over, met him halfway to keep him clear of the two young women who were working out there, had a nice friendly chat, he left. Apparently he was on his meds that day and pretty normal. Most likely he was scoping out the trucks to see if there was anything worth stealing. The key was we saw him before he got within 200 yards of us, so I had time to take the initiative and get to where I wanted to be, and I was armed. Turned out to be an easy one.
I've had long talks with local LE about this place to help keep my team safe out there, and Sheriff Eric Apperson pretty much summed it up at our first meeting: He said something along the lines of 'you guys won't have any trouble out there, to them you're authority figures.' Five years in, so far he's been right.