Office Builder Eyes Tulare
Tulare - Office Builder Likes Tulare Bay Area based Meridian Property Company, a division of Marcus and Millichap, plan to build an 11 acre professional and medical office complex on the northwest corner of Mooney and Prosperity in Tulare in coming months. The company has the property in escrow expected to close at the end of this month.
Already the firm is marketing parcels for sale or lease. The upscale office complex will be single story, says Eric Singer spokesman for the company. The complex is expected to have buildings sized from 3300 sf and 7000 sf to be available in April 2008.
Singer says the location of the office complex was selected because it is in the fast growing area of Tulare where lots of retail and new housing, as part of the Lagomarsino project, is underway. Tulare wants to offer upper end offices for its professionals to keep them from fleeing to Visalia.
Meridian has condos, office complexes up and down the valley including in Hanford where they have two buildings totaling over 23,000 sf for sale on Grenfield Ave. at Lacey. The company works through SBA offer up to 90% financing, they say.
Tulare broker Jan Lazarus is marketing the property.
Mayor Warns Downtown Vision May Require Eminent Domain
Tulare - Tulare mayor Rich Ortega is working hard to convince fellow city council members to push forward on a specific Downtown plan for Tulare to be folded into the general plan process now underway. The next step would be to hire a consultant to help put a formal general plan together.
Ortega is leading the charge on the issue to re-mold the city’s downtown to infill large “dead spots” in the core area with new uses.
That includes land owned by Union Pacific Railroad along J St., land owned by a Utah rail company called American Trails along the Santa Fe Trail and several large key properties owned by the Linder family.
The parcels will be the subject of a joint meeting with the redevelopment agency and council as this paper goes to press Wednesday, April 5.
On the agenda is the issue of the long vacant Linder building at Kern and K St. that Ortega believes is holding up progress on his vision. The nearly block-long building “has been empty for almost five years,” says Ortega.
“The last people showing an interest in locating there was the school district,” he says. “It’s the $64,000 question of how we get a new use in there.” He says backfilling the key project would “create an anchor for Downtown.”
Also Ortega cites the Linder tractor and farm implement yard next to City Hall as ripe for change. “It’s high time this property was converted to a higher and better use.” He suggests tractor sales might be better on industrial land that the city has plenty of. The family owns a yard down at I St. he points out.
Ortega says also the Industrial Site Foundation has been trying to work with Utah-based railroad company by the name of America Trail Association to develop four to six acres along the Santa Fe Trail on Pine near Downtown but after several contacts they refuse to sell to them or consider a joint use development idea put forward by the foundation.
Like the other parcels mentioned Ortega says he is “reluctant to use eminent domain” but as a last resort - “for the good of the community” he would favor it if necessary.
“It is time we develop this land.” The vacant railroad cooridor near the new Silvercrest housing project is ready for re-use and Ortega says he sees demand and need for more housing along the trail. The company says they have too much on their plate to consider the city or foundation’s initiatives according to several sources.
The joint meeting will also address a new snag in talks between the Union Pacific Railroad and the city over J St. land the city wants to buy but has had to use eminent domain to acquire land in the past.
Local government has the power to acquire property needed for the public good even if the property is turned over to another private owner with economic development of a community as its goal.
Former city manager Lynn Dredge says use of eminent domain may be seen “as a tool a city can use that may not necessarily be adversarial.” Using the eminent domain process “hurries development along,” notes Dredge, by allowing current landowner more time to reinvest the proceeds according to the tax code. “There are tax advantages.” “When there is clouded title eminent domain helps clear that title,” as well he notes. The later has been an issue with Union Pacific property.
“What we want is a master agreement with Union Pacific” along J St. that will end arm wrestling with Union Pacific piece by piece, he says City Manager Darrell Pyle will meet the railroad within a month or so.
Regarding the use of eminent domain Ortega says he hates to “stir up a hornets nest” over the power to condemn and acquire property for the public good but if that’s what it takes he will favor it. Now the rest of the council will have to weigh in.
Big Plans For City Center
By Robin Kaufman
Tulare - In his recent European travels with his wife, Tulare Mayor Richard Ortega noticed a recurring theme: the city square. "That was their sense of place," he said at a March 23rd community meeting on the redevelopment of Tulare's downtown area.
The mayor's presentation, held at the Horizon Outlet's Galaxy Theatre, was entitled, "Making Connections in Downtown Tulare."
The mayor's ideas also stem from his participation in an invitational Mayor's Institute on City Design at UC Berkeley. Ortega said he spoke extensively with Donlyn Lyndon at the Mayor's Institute and in his visit to Tulare.
Lyndon is a professor of architecture at UC Berkeley, director of the Mayor's Institute of City Design West, and a partner in the design firm of Lyndon-Buchanan Associates.
Lyndon was out of the country and could not be reached for comment.
In his presentation, Ortega gave the audience some history of downtown Tulare redevelopment and shared his ideas with the packed theatre.
The Mayor's vision of redevelopment in downtown Tulare consists of four “nodes” specific geographical areas: K Street Retail, Union Pacific Railroad Lands, Pine Avenue Redevelopment, and Zumwalt Park.
The mayor would like to see something done with the Linder Hardware building on the northeast corner of Kern Ave. and K St. The Linder building has been a hardware store, a furniture store, and most recently, the location of the Crafter's Outlet Mall.
The 2500-square-foot building was rebuilt in 1903 after a fire to the original 1884 Linder Hardware Building. Reynold Linder, patriarch of the Linder family, was a state senator in the 1890's.
The mayor's second redevelopment node is the Union Pacific Railroad Lands. This is the area of Walgreens, Git N' Go, and A&W. The mayor said he has been advised to "bank" the property currently owned by the railroad.
Redevelopment node three concerns Pine Avenue. This area includes the old Safeway, which has been converted into the Tulare Adult School, the new Tulare Transit Center, to be completed in July, and five miles of trail along Pine Ave.
Ortega suggested it should be developed into a parkway four blocks long. "A central park, if you will," the mayor said.
There are also plans in the works for a library across from the senior center. The library would be a full city block long, with meeting rooms and a café. The mayor specified that matching funds would be needed to complete such a project.
However, about two years ago, the Tulare Redevelopment Agency and the Tulare City Council adopted an amendment to the redevelopment plan and the general plan that would clear the way for an office park on either side of Pine Ave., according to Tulare Development Services Director Howard Edson.
Extensive engineering and specific planning have gone into the prospect of having office parks along Pine Ave. Between the mayor's proposal, and the work that has already been done, "There are certainly some opportunities to consider," said Edson.
Edson will retire in July and pass the torch to Bob Nance, who brings 10 years of redevelopment experience from the City of Visalia.
The mayor's fourth redevelopment node is the Zumwalt Park area. Of concern to the mayor, is the CASE tractor lot, part of Linder's Hardware, located directly to the west of City Hall. The mayor said the tractor lot should relocate to the industrial area south of downtown Tulare within 20 to 25 years.
Robert Linder, of Tulare's Linder Hardware, declined to comment for this story.
Before Ortega opened his community presentation to discussion, he shared his guiding principles for the downtown area: "Good design, good construction, and something we can be proud of," he said, adding: "We all know Rome was not built in a day."
During the community discussion, Ortega added, "We need to get a consultant on board to help us with this plan."
Darrel Pyle, Tulare city manager, led the community discussion of the mayor's ideas. The discussion brought up topics such as current infrastructure, developer fees, committees, parking, flooding and financing.
Christie Harvey, who attended the community meeting, was born in Visalia and now lives in Tulare. She saw Visalia go through the building boom and thinks it was too much. She said, "This is a place where I can raise my kids. I like the small town. I'd love to see them revitalize the downtown theatre."
Dena Maciel of Maciel's Photography Studio on South K St. was out of town when the March 23rd meeting took place, but she has her own ideas of what should happen with downtown redevelopment. She thinks the area would benefit from a downtown parking structure. "People walk farther in malls than they do in downtown Tulare."
During the summer, the photography studio has senior portrait appointments scheduled every 10 minutes, and parking can be a hassle for her customers. Her solution? "Remove a store for a parking lot and make a breezeway where people can walk."
Jess Martin, has owned Martin Business Forms on Kern Ave. since 1973. He has seen and experienced other downtown Tulare redevelopment efforts firsthand. "When they took the parking away, it made it more difficult for existing businesses…Redevelopment displaced a lot of people…You get to a point where you say, 'Is it worth it?' People downtown have really paid their dues."
Jess Martin's advice to the city: "Fill the empty spots first."
Tradition Thrives Through Generations at Canby’s
By Claudia Elliott
Tulare - Three generations of Canby's have served Tulare and the current owners, brothers Bruce and Doug Canby and their cousin, Steve, attribute their ability to work together to their grandfather, Roland Canby, who purchased the business from his brother in 1924.
“Grandpa used to come pick us all up on Saturday morning,” Doug Canby recalls. “He always had some work for us to do…straightening bent nails, sweeping up, all before we were about ten years old.”
By that time, their fathers were working with Grandpa in the businessDelbert was Bruce and Doug's dad and Stan was Steve's dadand eventually they purchased it from him. As the boys grew up, one by one they joined the family business, buying out their fathers and continuing the Canby family tradition.
Originally a plumbing and hardware store, Canby's evolved through the years to its current specialties: Appliances, air conditioning and plumbing.
Doug said the business has changed through the years and continues to adapt.
“Business is changing everyday, our clientele are changing as generations change and the area is growing, but the bottom line is that what we have to offer is service: We have people who can fix things and take care of things. You don't have to call a 1-800 number and stay on hold to get an answer we service what we sell and a whole lot of things that we don't that is our salvation.” Each of the three partners handles a different part of the business.
Bruce, like his father Stan, concentrates on the retail appliance store where everything from barbecues to freezers are on display. Bruce and Steve work in the field in air conditioning and plumbing installation and repair.
When they're not working, each has different interests to pursue.
Bruce and his wife, Sheilawho is the office manager at Canby'slike to take their trailer and travel. Doug and his wife, Pamwho is a school administratorenjoy snowmobiling and visiting their mountain cabin. And Steve, whose wife Billie and son Stuart own Tulare's Hedgerow House antique store, enjoys racing motorcycles. In fact, he won a national title and is considering joining the senior motocross circuit when he retires.
Bruce is the store historian and shared some facts about Canby's:
The store expanded to Kingsburg in the mid-thirties, but World War II shortages made it impossible to keep appliances in stock, so the store was closed.
In 1947 the store burned to the ground. Insurance wasn't adequate to replace the building and the stock, so Tulare residents banded together and built a new store a block away. Eventually the store was rebuilt and continued.
In the mid-seventies Highway 137 (Tulare Avenue) was expanded and part of the storefront had to be removed. Later, problems with vandalism made it necessary for some of the large plate glass windows to be replaced.
What will the future bring for Canby's? Unfortunately, there is no fourth generation waiting in the wings to take over the storeyet. But Bruce, Doug, and Steve have no plans to stop doing what they're doing, taking care of Tulare.
Target Exploring New Tulare Site
Tulare - The discount retailer Target is still looking for the right site to locate a new store. The latest location is a vacant 17-acre parcel at the southwest corner of Mooney and Prosperity. The city’s top planner Mark Kielty says he expects Browman Development to file an application for a site review at that location “within the next few weeks.” Browman has been representing Target in discussions with the city.
You might remember last year that the same company – Oakland-based Browman Development filed plans for a site on a 17-acre parcel north of the outlet mall adjacent to Highway 99. But that plan never jelled after Target reportedly rejected the potential location. Browman who had an option on the 17 acres with William Martin let the option lapse.
Meanwhile, Target was being wooed by Cartmill Crossing developer Ben Ennis who failed to land the big tenant for that planned shopping center. Time could be a factor in that Cartmill Crossings require annexation into the city and will have to fund improvements to the interchange.
Meanwhile, if Target wants Mooney and Prosperity, the land is within the city and properly zoned. “All they need to do is meet Target’s parking requirements which are tighter than the city’s,” notes Kielty.
The location has raised some eyebrows in that Target has a big new store on Mooney Blvd. just a few miles down the road at Packwood Creek.
The above stories are the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.
April 4, 2006
