How did 2015 slip by so
quickly?! I believe it's beneficial for Visalia to look back at our 2015
accomplishments, as we celebrate the start of a new year.
MOONEY BOULEVARD:
Mor Furniture and outlet
store opened in February. HomeGoods, a popular home furnishing store,
celebrated their grand opening in November. Opening soon in the same
center will be Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW). A 4-unit commercial space
is being built next to Toys R Us; so far, Shoe Palace, an athletic footwear and
apparel retail chain, has been announced as a tenant. Plans have been
approved to raze the former Mimi's Café in order to construct two new
restaurants in its place, still to be announced. Five Guys Burgers and
Packwood Creek Dental opened at Packwood Creek, with Rubio's Mexican Seafood to
follow soon. Developer Dave Paynter recently purchased the Sequoia Plaza
where Walmart is located, and will be filling that place again. And
Visalia Mall just announced that Blaze Fast-Fired Pizza, the nation's leading
build-your-own pizza chain, is going into its building next to Union Bank in
May 2016. .
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN:
Easley's Gun Shop has
relocated to Surplus City's prior location, and is now known as The General's
Trading Post, offering hunting gear, man cave stuff and local furniture.
Sequoia Brewing has opened at Main and Locust. Ed Dena's Auto Center is
occupying the site on East Main and Ben Maddox formerly occupied by Sy's
Quality Automobiles. Rio Grill closed its Main Street location but a new
restaurant is expected in that space in the next few months. Sacred Tiki Tattoo
Parlor moved into the old Midtown News location. Quizno's closed at the
Comfort Suites, rumored to be replaced soon by Deli Delicious. Sam
Sciacca's anticipated mixed-use development in the old Link's building is on
track to open soon, featuring a wine tasting retail store and a beauty salon,
and six residential units above. Tazzaria purchased Glick’s, and updated
the deli and bakery. Finally, the big news is that Imagine U Children's Museum
is now open. Take your kids and grand kids and have a great time!
NORTH VISALIA:
At Orchard Walk, new retail
developments include Leslie's Pool Supply, Don Roberto Jewelers, an AT&T
Store, Nice Nail and Spa, Verizon and Visalia Modern Dentistry. Oval Park
is finally getting the Caltrans street work done, which will improve
walkability and traffic flow. The old gas station building on the corner
of N.E. Third and Court has been rehabbed and is now offering Thai food.
Derrel's Mini Storage began construction of their 201,400 square foot mini storage
complex at Goshen and Demaree. This includes widening Demaree to
hopefully improve traffic flow. Visalia Care Dental has located at the
southeast corner of Ferguson and Dinuba. Plans are going forward for a
Self Help Enterprises multi-family project on the northwest corner of Ferguson
and Dinuba. Conceptual site plans are going through the city for approval
of a large retail shopping center south of Orchard Walk which includes multiple
anchor pads, restaurant and smaller retail spaces, and for a new Kaweah Delta
Urgent Health Care Center near Demaree and Riggin. The Houston
Neighborhood Park opened and will be a terrific asset for the families in that
area.
INDUSTRIAL PARK:
A 95-room, four-story
Residence Inn (extended stay Marriott Hotel) received its CUP and should break
ground soon next to Fresno Pacific off Plaza Drive. Pinnacle Premix has
opened on Shirk and Sunnyview, a new company which mixes vitamins and minerals
into ag and pet food products. Hydrite Chemical expanded and acquired a
vacant industrial building and land at Clancey and Doe. Pacific Stihl
expanded into a 140,000 square foot space near Riggin and Plaza, which nearly
triples their previous space and more than doubles its dock doors from eight to
eighteen. rePlanet, the state's largest recycling company, has relocated
on West Goshen. And Lloyd and Adam Heller are expected to construct over
800,000 square feet of new rail-served spec buildings near Doe and Shirk.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
Seaport Airlines opened and
continues to provide excellent service for our local airport. Ridership
is dramatically up and should meet the requirements for maintaining our
essential air services . Corner Café, an east Visalia diner, will soon be
moving to Key West Shopping Center at Goshen and Akers. The Marriott has
new owners and is being remodeled. Holiday Inn by the airport has
switched brands to Wyndham, and $6 million in renovations and updates are
currently taking place. A Holiday Inn Express will be locating near
Adventure Park. Also, look for Skywalk Visalia, a trampoline and extreme sports
complex opening next to Chuck E. Cheese. Visalia Parkway is now open
behind Target which will increase east/west driveability. Last but not least,
Visalia once again has a Wienerschnitzel, now open on East Noble. And for
my Christmas wish, I've asked Santa for a new Nordstrom E-commerce Fulfillment
Center in our industrial park, bringing 1,000 jobs with it.
When all of these new
developments are considered together, we can see that 2015 was indeed a very
good year for our city. We expect more commercial growth in 2016, which
will further strengthen our tax base and meet the needs of our local
citizenry. Happy New Year to all!
Warren Gubler
Visalia Vice Mayor
Visalia Times Delta Editorial January 1, 2016
