Mooney Boulevard
Outback Steakhouse is replacing the former Mimi's Café and construction will be finished soon. There's a 30,000 square foot regional retail use moving forward on the bare land just west of Costco, which will hopefully spur development of The Grove at Packwood Creek. Also at The Grove, a second Surf Thru Car Wash is going through the permitting process.
The Weatherby's Furniture site at Walnut and Mooney sold, and will soon be redeveloped into a new multi-tenant retail building that will feature at least one new restaurant. The vacant Circuit City building was back-filled with a new Joann's, and a new Smart & Final Extra will be moving into the old Joann's location. Blaze Pizza opened in front of the Visalia Mall, Rubio's opened in Packwood Creek and Pieology opened in the Dick's Sporting Goods center, along with designer shoe retailer DSW. A new building is being erected next to IHOP which will include three to four new retail/restaurant tenants.
Historic Downtown
Suncrest Bank will soon be moving into the old Citibank building on Main Street which is currently being remodeled. The city council approved a micro brewery overlay district in east downtown this year, which will hopefully spur development in that area. This means that microbreweries and micro-wineries can operate there, no longer require a food service component, and can sell their product off-site to restaurants and other entities. There is already a proposed tap room and beer garden slated for the 500 block of East Main Street. The former Caskey Paper building on East Center is being repurposed for office use and as the new location for the Planing Mill Artisan Pizzeria. This mixed-use development may also include residential units and a microbrewery. Deli Delicious has opened across from the Convention Center. Left of Center is a new dining option in Sue Sa's Clubhouse on Center Street. Chelsea Street Boutique is opening their second store at 110 West Main Street. The old Link's building on Main Street is nearly complete. This development features six residential units and two retail spaces on the ground floor, one will be used by Provoke Salon, and Blend Wine Room is expected to occupy the other.
North Visalia
Del Taco will soon be completed, as part of a new gas station/convenience store complex currently open on the southeast corner of Dinuba and Riggin. Four new retail spaces have been built at the Orchard Walk East Shopping Center, and are expected to bring in new retail and restaurant tenants. Self Help Enterprises recently opened Highland Gardens, their 36-unit rental community featuring single family homes, a community center, garden and more on Ferguson near Dinuba Blvd.
Industrial Park
AGCO Parts opened its West Coast distribution center, relocating from Stockton, as Visalia offers improved regional shipping turnaround and next day delivery. Approximately 30,000 square feet of new industrial warehouse space is being built at the Able Industries location. New construction is proceeding for ServiceMaster on West Sunnyview. Cencal Movement, a fitness facility that features a ninja warrior training course is now on West Pershing Avenue. Perfection Pet Foods continues to grow and will be adding 148,000 square feet at their existing site. Visalia Ceramic Tile also expanded with a new 10,000 square foot building for their manufacturing process, while a new 25,000 square foot distribution warehouse has been constructed for RSD (Refrigeration Supplies Distributor). Diversified Development Group will soon begin construction of a 402,000 square foot project at American and Riggin, including at least three spec facilities.
Other Developments
A Planet Fitness will soon be opening in the former Young's Market at Demaree and Walnut. A gym is also proposed at the former Marinello School of Beauty on Mooney. Construction is going forward on a new Holiday Inn Express across from Adventure Park, bringing 104 new rooms. In the old Vons shopping center, a new gym facility and a Skywalk Trampoline Park are still in the works, making this a key family entertainment destination.
The FBI in September released its annual compilation of crimes reported by law enforcement agencies around the nation. The Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) listed a crime rate of 395.8 per 100,000 population, the lowest in Central California. Compare this to Fresno 537.3, Bakersfield 556.3, Merced 621.1, and the highest Stockton-Lodi 797.1, more than double Visalia's MSA rate. Kudos to our public safety officers for achieving this remarkable result!
Finally, Visalia has a new
mayor, yours truly, for the next two years. I consider it a privilege and
look forward to serving you in that capacity.
If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.
