Tulare - New York based Prescott Group announced July 28 their purchase of six outlet centers owned by Horizon Group including the Tulare outlet mall. The deal in the works for over a year, is expected to mean the expansion of the 226,000 square foot retail property.

“I can say our plan is to double the size of the mall over time,” says James Harris who will help guide the new company. Harris says he would model the future scale of the mall to that of Gilroy which is over 560,000 square feet. Current major tenants in Tulare include Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Reebok, Liz Claiborne, Coach, Nautica, and Mikasa.

Prescott announced that Ariel Preferred Retail Group will oversee the operation and expansion of the malls headed by outlet mall pioneers James Harris and Donald Chapman. Both worked for several years with the Horizon Group and are familiar with the Tulare center. The two were principals with the McArthur/Glenn Group who first proposed an outlet mall in Tulare and later built the Gilroy outlet center.

Prescott Capital Management, the management arm of the Prescott Group, said the purchase of the Horizon portfolio covered 1.2 million square feet and was purchased for $110.4 million.

Sources say that the new buyer will carry on with plans to expand the mall by more than 40 acres – something that could happen in the next year.

Mr. Harris told the Voice he plans to be in Tulare next week and is working on a “completion of the current third phase of the center and planning a fourth phase soon.”

Among plans for the mall, Harris said he is working with the Galaxy Theater owner on a potential relocation and expansion of the movie theater. Sources say that Galaxy could grow to 16 screens relocating north of the outlet and the current owners would reconfigure the movie theater into outlet stores.

Harris says he worked in Tulare in 1995 with mayor Retherford to help found the outlet mall. “It will be good to be back in Tulare,” he says.

Harris says the company plans more restaurants and food vendors at the mall wanting to “keep the shopper in their parking place” by adding sit-down and other food venues to the shopping experience.

As to what kind of store to expect in the future, Harris said he could not name names but in the way of categories, look for more youth fashion, children and family-related stores and outdoor apparel.

Ariel will inherit a partially-completed phase three expansion of the mall that needs to be finished off. Several deals for pads in this phase two area remain to be settled as well including the siting of a new Boot Barn store and several pads that were to be set aside for restaurants.

Ariel’s properties are to be re-branded as “Preferred Outlets” in reference to the center’s variety of nationally known tenants, the new name for the local mall is Preferred Outlet at Tulare.

Sources say Tulare was already one of the top centers in Horizon’s portfolio and now using Gilroy as a model, the new owner wants to add many of the stores in that mall that aren’t yet in the Tulare mall.

That’s good news for the city of Tulare, which enjoys a monopoly on outlet malls in the Central Valley and counts on its growth to fuel its sales tax dollar needs.

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Julie Fernandez Named Managing Editor of Tulare Voice

Tulare - Beginning with this issue, veteran area journalist Julie Fernandez assumes the role of managing editor of the Tulare Voice.

“We couldn't be any more excited about Julie joining the team,” said Tulare Voice Publisher John Lindt. “She brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, contacts and love for the community to our paper and will certainly help take the Tulare Voice to the next level.”

Fernandez, 57, had been a reporter with the Tulare Advance-Register since 1976.

“Julie's a real pro and I am looking forward to continuing to work with her in this new and expanded role,” said Tulare City Manager Darrel Pyle.

Fernandez, who calls herself a “near-native, because I was born in a Hanford hospital and then came home to Tulare,” has been a first-person observer of Tulare's evolution and the many developments and changes that have resulted from the city's recent growth spurt.

“Over the years at the Advance-Register,” Fernandez said, “I've covered several beats, including more than a dozen years covering Tulare city government.”

“Despite the recent phenomenal growth, this community has maintained its own sense of identity,” said Fernandez. “That makes it exciting for me to take on this new role in helping to produce a newspaper that will cover Tulare news from front page to back. It will also be a chance to spread my wings, journalistically-speaking, in a community that I know and love.”

Fernandez lives in Tulare with her husband Lou. They have two children, Katrina, 22, a recent college graduate, and Matthew, 16, a Tulare Western sophomore.

In addition to announcing Fernandez's recent hire, Lindt also announced this week that the Tulare Voice will open a new office in downtown Tulare.

The new headquarters for the paper will be located in the Civic Affairs building at 125 South M Street, where the Tulare City Council holds its regular meetings and several other local businesses are based.

Fernandez as well as Tulare Voice advertising director J.R. Givens and advertising account executive Nancy Hamar will be working out of the new office.

“I am looking forward to talking to people about their story ideas for the Tulare Voice and want to encourage everyone to contact me anytime with input,” Fernandez said.

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Looking For a Few Good Women:
Tulare's First 'Women Build' Home

By Kim Clemons

Tulare - Members of Habitat for Humanity of Tulare County are looking for women, with or without experience, to raise their hammers by volunteering to help build a house as part of Tulare's first all-women-built house.

“We thought it would be fun to do what we call a 'Women Build' here,” said Betsy Murphy, executive director of HFHTC.

Construction on the organization's first female-centric project will be at 446 S. Los Angeles St., Tulare, which will be the future home of George and Cecilia Cortez.

“Right now we are waiting for the permits to be approved,” said Murphy, who hopes to begin sometime in September.

According to HFHTC newsletter, women make up 50 percent of Habitat's volunteer force, however they account for less than 15 percent of workers on the construction site.

Women Build provides a setting where women are encouraged to tackle all aspects of construction.

On the Women Build projects, men can still help by acting in supporting roles, such as serving lunch.

Nationally, Lowe's has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity in sponsoring this event. “We have submitted an application with Lowe's corporation, requesting financial support from them,” said Murphy.

At the local level, Lowe's is already helping. Geary Johnson, store managers for the Visalia Lowe's, says his store is extremely excited about the upcoming Women Build.

“We have twelve ladies that have signed up to help,” said Johnson. “As a store, we are committed to giving back to the community. This is just one of several projects that we do locally each year.”

Sign-ups have already begun. Besides the group from Lowe's, Murphy said groups from Fresno Pacific University, CSET, Self-Help Enterprises, Lemoore Naval Base, Coldwell Banker, McMillian Homes and Wells Fargo are just some of the ladies who have already signed up to be a part of Women Build.

Heading up the Women Build project will be Diane Vessels, a licensed contractor and construction manager for Habitat for Humanity.

Training is not required in order to participate. “We have on-the-job training,” said Murphy. “Lowe's also has classes.”

For more information or to volunteer, call Habitat for Humanity at 734-4040.

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Redevelopment Agency, Union Pacific Make Deal on
J Street Parcels Tentative Agreement Paves Way
for Shopping Center, Quick Lube

By Julie Fernandez

Tulare - The Tulare Redevelopment Agency and Union Pacific Railroad have reached tentative agreement on the sale of excess railroad property along J Street that includes land Tulare businessman Jim Pidgeon and the Monterey-based Orosco Group want to develop.

City Manager Darrel Pyle said he expects the redevelopment agency and Union Pacific will open an escrow on four parcels within the next two weeks.

“It [the purchase] is going to help us clean up some underutilized property in that downtown area,” Pyle said.

The property includes the northwest corner of Cross Avenue and J Street, where Pidgeon wants to build a 3,800-square-foot quick lube and smog center, and the southwest corner, where the Monterey-based Orosco Group plans to build a shopping center.

The agency will also purchase two parcels on the southeast corner of I Street and Cross Avenue, where the city has plans to put in a park/ponding basin that will allow the city to better handle stormwater downtown while also beautifying the area, Redevelopment Director Bob Nance said.

“I want to emphasize that we're going to try to minimize the pond, maximize the open space,” Nance said.

The exact sale price for the four parcels won't be known until the railroad calculates what it will need to retain for its operations and a decision is made on how to handle existing lease agreements with a billboard company, Nance said.

Continually thwarted in its attempt to purchase the four parcels, the Tulare Redevelopment Agency filed a lawsuit in Tulare County Superior Court last August to begin the eminent domain process. A settlement conference had been scheduled for Aug. 24.

Patrick Orosco of the Orosco Group said he was “excited” that the railroad and redevelopment agency have reached an agreement.

“We've been waiting for the city to come to this point for almost 10 years,” Orosco said. “We are ready to go. We will be moving on this development almost immediately.”

The shopping center will provide the central business district with additional services and more food options, including those best described as “fast casual” or “gourmet to go,” Orosco said. The company has agreements with tenants that do not allow him to divulge their names until they give his company permission, he said.

Pidgeon, who has been working with the agency for more than two years on his project, could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.

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Three Pull Papers for Tulare City Council Seats

Tulare - With the deadline of Aug. 11 fast approaching to file papers to run for the two seats on the Tulare City Council, three people have already pulled papers to run.

Prior to the opening of the filing date, current Tulare City Mayor Rich Ortega announced that he would seek another term and pulled papers last week.

First, however, to take out papers was Randy Dennis, former Tulare firefighter for 14 years before going to work for the City of Fresno.

“Before jumping into major projects, I believe the city needs to take care of the basic necessities, like the roads,” said Dennis.

Last week, David Macedo, current city councilman, announced that he had made arrangements with the World Livestock Association, making it possible for him to run for a third term. As the Tulare Voice went to press, Macedo had not yet taken out papers.

Prior to Macedo's announcement, Patrick Isherwood, who ran for city council back in 2004, pulled candidate papers.

Isherwood, currently a redevelopment board member for the City of Tulare and an employee with Tulare County, said that he would file his papers if for some reason Ortega or Macedo do not file. “I'm a fan of Ortega,” he said. “Right now we have a great city council with a good chemistry.”

Candidates for city council must file:
· Nomination Petition containing 20-30 signatures, which are gathered between July 17 and Aug. 11;
· Statement of Economic Interests;
· Campaign Statement;
· Declaration of Candidacy.

Each candidate has the option to file a Candidate Statement of Qualification of 200 words or less, which the candidate will pay $1,330 filing fee.

Last day to file is Aug. 11 by 5 p.m. with the Tulare County Elections Office.

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Mefford Hangar Lease Still Up in the Air

By Robin Kaufman

Tulare - After receiving the approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to lease airport property around the old Mefford hangar in early June and with the transition of Milt Stowe as the new recreation, parks and library director, the Tulare Aviation Commission is now ready to develop a process for how the leasing of airport property around the hangar will be handled.

There are still some issues to be hammered out in formally drafting the request for proposals (RFPs). Once city staff has the RFP developed by the end of this month, the draft will go to the Tulare Aviation Commission (TAC) for approval and then to the city council, according to Stowe.

At the July aviation commission meeting there was some unresolved discussion as to whether the soon-to-be-drafted RFP should suggest any division of the land into specific parcels to be leased.

According to Stowe, that decision may be left up to the city council.

The Federal Aviation Administration has no objection to leasing airport property that's no longer needed for aeronautical use for non-aeronautical revenue producing activities, said FAA spokesperson Allen Kenitzer.

In the past few months, multiple proposals have come forward for the hangar and the surrounding property. Businessman Cary Stanley wants to build a hotel or store, Chamber of Commerce Director Bob Reynolds has proposed that the Mefford Hangar be converted into a “Tulare Warbird Museum,” and Fresno RV Outlet has expressed interest in leasing land for RV sales.

Ron Overacker Jr. of Blue Sky Aviation had also proposed turning Mefford Hangar into the base of operations for his helicopter flight school, but he has since settled on another building at the airport.

There has also been talk of how the Hayward Executive Airport in the Bay Area has been able to lease airport property to a Home Depot that opened in 2001, and that has fueled speculation that Tulare could also draw a big box retailer to the property.

Though locals have come forward with their ideas for the hangar area first, “Anyone that expresses interest will have to go through the formal RFP process,” said Stowe.

The uses must be aviation-compatible and any long-term leases over five years must contain clauses for periodic rental rate adjustments. A 25-year lease term would also be acceptable to the FAA, said Kenitzer.

Leases for aviation-use activities normally don't require FAA review, but do need to go through an airspace review and put on the airport layout plan (ALP) if building construction is anticipated.

“All proposed non-aeronautical uses should be first sent to us for review,” said Kenitzer.

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