Last
month I wrote about the 2017 business and retail developments in Visalia.
I ran out of space to describe the many new projects that are coming to Visalia
in 2018.
INDUSTRIAL
PARK: A
new 6,000 square foot location for Comfort Now Air Conditioning, and a 6,600
square foot expansion for Remedy Medical off of Shirk. There is a 7,284
square foot warehouse user off N. Gateway, and a new grain hopper trailer
manufacturer in a new 4,000 square foot building near Kelsey off Doe.
Smith Promotions, a local screen printing/embroidery shop and full-service
manufacturer of promotional materials is expanding into a new 10,000 square
foot facility. Two new 16,000 square foot shell buildings are proposed
along Goshen behind Able Industries, and Breck's Electric Motors will be moving
to a new 8,850 square foot site off Grove Court. A new 125,000 square
foot industrial building is being proposed at the northwest corner of Neely and
the future Hurley intersection. Pacific Dry Ice is proposing to occupy
7249 W. Goshen Avenue, and is in the process of acquiring building
permits. Huckleberry's Restaurant, a southern themed breakfast and lunch
restaurant, is considering a location in the Plaza Business Park. Local
ag tech company Valley Ag Software (VAS) will be moving to a new 31,000 square
foot office in The Square at Plaza Drive. We hope to attract and grow
tech companies like VAS in that area.
HISTORIC
DOWNTOWN:
Downtown may be seeing more residential space, as residential is being proposed
above Javi's Taco Shack. A skywalk is being proposed to connect the third
floor of the west Acequia parking garage to the building at 215 W. Main
Street. The project proposes new office and residential development in
the upper floors. Visalia Emergency Aid is adding additional warehousing
and office space to their N.E. Third location. A new grocery/meat market
has been proposed behind the very popular Pho and Seafood Restaurant by the
Lincoln oval, in an existing building. Doc's Drive-In is continuing the
process to relocate to the southwest corner of Main and Willis.
MOONEY
BOULEVARD:
A new Jiffy Lube is being proposed just behind the Lowes at Mooney and
Cameron. A bridge over Packwood Creek onto Cameron Avenue is being
proposed in the Sequoia Plaza Shopping Center (Walmart). This will
improve traffic circulation in and out of that center. Family Health Care
Network is proposing a new full-service medical clinic in the former Dollar
Tree location near Beech and Mooney. The 17,000 square foot facility will
include full medical and dental services. The Orosco Group has demolished
the old Weatherby's site on the southeast corner of Walnut and Mooney, with new
retail/food tenants expected to land there, including Dunkin Donuts.
OTHER
DEVELOPMENTS:
The storm basin located in the Riverway Sports Park has been filled with dirt,
and in 2018, the final phase of Riverway Sports Park will begin with the
construction of four new lighted softball fields with corresponding concession
stands, restroom facilities, parking and an additional picnic structure.
The Walmart expansion at Noble and Ben Maddox is underway once again, after
some delay caused by litigation. The expansion includes additional grocery
sales, an outdoor garden center, and a fast food tenant. There is a new
drive-in concept proposed that will allow shoppers to call ahead to pick up
pre-made grocery orders. Customers will get into a vehicle queue, enter a
pass code, pull to a loading station where Walmart employees will cart the
orders out to the customers' vehicles and allow customers the ability to
inspect the fresh items before completing the transaction. A mini-market
and gas station is being proposed at the southeast corner of Visalia Parkway
and Demaree, located west of proposed multi-family and single family
housing. A pharmacy is proposed at 1400 East Noble adjacent to
Wienerschnitzel. The Sequoia Surgery Center on Akers near 198 is
expanding by 18,860 square feet. A new 11,890 square foot office building
is being proposed at the southeast corner of Akers and Noble.
Visalia
will be the first in the nation to execute an agreement with the U.S.
Department of Transportation for the community flexibility pilot program, a
program first authorized by Congress in 2004. Visalia will be receiving
$3,703,368.00 in federal funds pursuant to a DOT grant agreement, which monies
will fund a hangar development project at the Visalia Municipal Airport.
These new hangars in turn will result in an estimated $131,000.00 in new
airport revenue annually at build-out and full tenancy. A number of
multi-family development projects are being proposed along the Visalia Parkway,
east of Demaree, at the northeast corner of Akers and Riggin, and the southeast
corner of Lovers Lane and Walnut Avenue.
I
thank Visalia's economic development director, Devon Jones, for providing much
of this information I've just shared with you. We're always looking for
new businesses to move to or develop in Visalia, and we believe our area is the
future of California.
