It's
hard to believe that eight years have passed since I was first elected to the
Visalia City Council. Back in 2009 we
were in the midst of a recession, Mooney Blvd. looked like a ghost town, and
consumer confidence had bottomed out. What
a difference eight years makes! As part
of this column's annual New Year's tradition, reflect back with me on Visalia's
business and retail accomplishments during the past year, 2017.
MOONEY
BOULEVARD Sportsman's Warehouse recently opened just
west of Costco. Across the street north of
Costco is a Surf-Thru Car Wash under construction. I enjoyed the ribbon cutting for the new
Smart & Final Extra which backfilled the old JoAnn's location, after
JoAnn's moved to the old Circuit City location.
Enjoy some grub at the new Outback Steakhouse on the corner of Mooney
and Cameron. A bridge over Packwood
Creek is proposed in the Sequoia Plaza Shopping Center (Walmart) to give better
access south onto Cameron. "The
Commons" regional retail project on the southwest corner of Mooney and Visalia
Parkway continues through the entitlement process. The project currently calls for eleven acres
of residential, roughly fifteen acres of new commercial and approximately one
acre of greenbelt. It will have numerous
anchor pads, a number of drive-throughs and various other retail uses. The old Weatherby's site at Walnut and Mooney
has been demolished, and new retail/food tenants are expected there.
HISTORIC
DOWNTOWN The former Caskey Paper building is the new
home of the Planing Mill Restaurant, office space and soon a martial arts
studio and gym. More proposals are being
made for residential space upstairs at various downtown locations, with House
of Sciacca opening six apartments upstairs in the old Link's building. Provoke Salon and Blend wine room are
downstairs. Suncrest Bank moved into the
old Citibank building on Main Street, with classy improvements such as Tazz
Coffee. In the new microbrewery overlay
area on East Main, BarrelHouse Brewing Co. opened its tap room and beer
garden. Perhaps the most exciting downtown
news is that the old courthouse annex on Court Street and surrounding
properties are in the process of being sold by the county to private
developers, who will be developing a boutique hotel there, and preserving its 1930's
era art deco architectural style.
Twenty-eight luxury suites, a rooftop pool and bar, downstairs
restaurant and other amenities are planned!
NORTH
VISALIA The storm water basin at Riverway Sports Park
has been filled in, and the park's final phase, four new lighted softball
fields, concession stands, restroom facilities, parking and an additional
picnic structure are coming in 2018. A
new Del Taco opened nearby. TCOE Early
Childhood Education Program opened at Oval Park. VEAC is adding additional warehousing and
office space to their site on N.E. 3rd. KDDH is adding a 6,100 square foot urgent
care facility and a senior care facility just north of Lowes on Demaree and
Riggin. A new Burger King opened on N.
Ben Maddox.
INDUSTRIAL
PARK UPS purchased 58 acres at the northeast
corner of Plaza and Riggin for future expansion plans. Golden State Overnight is building a 62,840
square foot distribution center making Visalia its main hub, with room to
double in size in future years. Seventy
jobs will be created when it opens. DDG
is completing a 402,000 square foot spec building project at American and
Riggin. Rumor has it that the developer
has already signed up occupants to fill most of it, including International Paper
Company. There are currently over 1,000
acres of zoned industrial land that are shovel ready for more businesses to
locate here. Marriott Residence Inn is
being built on Plaza Drive and a Holiday Inn Express is completed and open for
business behind Adventure Park.
OTHER
DEVELOPMENTS Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is under
construction in the Kmart shopping center.
Visalia City Billiards has joined Fit Republic and Quantum Leap in the
old Vons shopping center, which has become a new entertainment center including
Roller Towne, Chuck E. Cheese, and restaurant options. Planet Fitness opened in the old Young's
Market at Walnut and Demaree. Visalia's
Water Conservation Plant upgrade is finished and awaiting final state approval. It will recycle liquid waste into 99% pure
water for irrigation purposes. We wish
outgoing city manager Mike Olmos a happy retirement, he's done a great job for
the city; and we welcome our new city manager Randy Groom in January.
I'm
out of space, so next month I'll write about some of the proposed 2018
developments in Visalia that will knock your socks off!
Happy
New Year 2018!
Mayor
Warren Gubler
warren.gubler@visalia.city
