Sequoia Mall Eyes Expansion Plan

Visalia - The retail buzz in Visalia recently has focused on Packwood Creek and now the new Kohls shopping center opening this month. But the new owners of the Sequoia Mall are trying to create a little buzz of their own in coming months as they study a new layout of the property and work to attract new tenants. The mall will lose Ross and Men’s Wearhouse stores next month but the well capitalized developers are not sitting on their hands.

One option being seriously considered - convert the air conditioned mall into an open air shopping center.

Spokesman John Wickser said he couldn’t comment about either tenants or options but said plans to emphasize exterior store fronts rather than interior stores like a mall has was a strong possibility. Wickser works for Centro Watt America REIT who purchased the property in October 2003 for a reported $27 million.

Representatives of the mall have told the city about their plans and met with city manager Steve Salomon and other recently. Visalia mayor Bob Link says plans to improve the mall is “good news” and is optimistic that something substantial will happen considering the company “has plenty of money.”

Wickser says the REIT made up of Watt Commercial of Santa Monica and an Australian partnership manages 7 million sq ft. of retail shopping space in California. “We are extremely well capitalized and have close relationships with all prospective tenants.”

Just which option the property takes is not clear yet. “Things are kind of fluid right now,” says mall manager Weldon Killion, although expansion and new tenants are part of the plan, he says.

In the meeting with city manager Steve Salomon the city manager told the company reps the mall could capitalize on the fact that it has far more parking space than they need and urged them to add tenants in the mall space area and around it. With both the front and rear of the mall soon vacant the mall owner can reconfigure the layout of stores.

Sears Could Expand

Sears general manager Fay Dimick says she has seen a plan that extends the store toward Mooney. The Sears store would reportedly grow from about 70,000 sq. ft. to perhaps 120,000 sq. ft.

“We would love to expand,” says Dimick. “We’re already the highest Sears per sq. ft. in our area” although the store is small by Sears standards. Sears is facing increasing competition in Visalia from aggressive discounters like Walmart, Costco and Target - each with big stores while Sears plods along with the same size they have been for decades in Visalia.

Sears owns their own property as well as the parking lot space next to the store. The common space in the mall as well as the movie theater and the Ross space as well as the shopping center to the north is owned by the new company, Centro Watt.

In one plan option the owner would tear down the mall’s interior space and replace it with several small big box retailers. They would tear down the old movie theater property in the northwest to make room for more parking. Just what happens to the Ross space isn’t clear although the movie theater wants to expand, sources say.

One source says the former Ross space might be two stores - perhaps a food court adjacent an expanded movie theater. If Sears and the movie theater get bigger it isn’t clear if Mervyn’s too would enlarge. The mall owners don’t own that space and Mervyn’s leases it. Mervyn’s has been the subject of relocation rumors in the past year in town. The company is owned by Target.

Turning the Sequoia Mall into an open air mall may allow it to attract new retailers in a time when open air strip as well as mall-type shopping centers in many cities have become more popular - witness Riverpark in Fresno.

Officials who spoke to the Voice on background said whatever plan the new owner comes up with it’s likely to include a larger Sears but not likely to include adding a big new major mall anchor like a Macy’s or Robinson-May although many in town would love to have one of these department stores.

The former owner - M and H Properties owned the mall since 1998 and did a complete face lift of the mall and brought in Borders Books in 1999.

Next door M and H built a new double store center with Bath and Beyond and Marshall’s stores that is also included in the sale to Watt. Total square footage of the purchase was listed at 201,349.

One city source told us that the new owners of Sequoia Mall will be under the gun to come up with a plan to keep them healthy in this a “very competitive retail climate.” The coming of Packwood Creek shopping center sprawling over both sides of Mooney to the south and the new Kohls center across from Visalia Mall puts the pressure on the Sequoia Mall to reinvent itself basically - perhaps now as less of a mall and more a pedestrian style shopping center.

More Vacant Storefronts

Critics of the expansion of retail space on Mooney have suggested that the new centers would result in empty buildings along the existing strip. Some of the properties today are vacant and some for sale including the Costco shopping center (see other article in this issue), Youngs vacant grocery store on north Mooney, the vacant Target building. Also the existing Michael’s and Factory 2 U storefronts are for lease along with the smaller Wherehouse Music storefront.

Mr Wickser says the option selected to expand will capitalize on the fact the property has a great location (it’s pretty much the busiest corner in Tulare County) and some strong tenants in place. “We are going to come up with a center that has a more modern format,” he vows.

Look for some more definitive plans to be discussed in a few months with the development taking place perhaps a year from now.

City manager Salomon is optimistic too, suggesting that “the odds of the mall expanding and modernizing are excellent."

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Lindsay Foods Weighs Start-Up

Lindsay - The former Console Foods plant in Lindsay may see new life nearly 8 years after company owner Mort Console began working on the plans for a frozen food processing plant in the old Lindsay Olive facility.

The plant sprawling 36 acres in town has been padlocked for years while Mr. Console tried to work out financing problems with USDA, his lender and local authorities.

Now in a new ownership structure, the company has been reborn as Lindsay Foods LLC, says the company financial consultant David Lensing. Mr. Console is still involved with the company but a new president, Paul Black a CPA, now heads up the firm.

Lensing says predictions that the plant would reopen are premature suggesting that a final go ahead is still weeks away. “We are still looking at the cost of starting up using the old equipment” that has been in the facility since it closed in 1998 after only 6 months in operation. “We also have had some damage to some of the buildings,”says Lensing.

There are over 300,000 sq. ft. of buildings on the site.

Despite some caution Lensing says “it is our intention to reopen the plant probably producing a fall spinach crop and hiring several hundred workers. The number of people depends on the volume of business,” says Lensing. “The goal is run as much product as possible because of the thin margins in this business,” he says. The group has been in touch with the City of Lindsay and its city manager Scot Townsend in recent weeks and news has come out that the plant would reopen and hire 350 to 500 workers as soon as this July.

But Lensing cautions that the company is considering other options if using the local plant doesn’t work out.

Townsend told the Voice he was “hopeful the company can overcome remaining obstacles” and that the city would work with the company to seek any financing that might be available now. “We do have our state enterprise zone,” says Townsend that offers tax advantages when a company hires workers.

“Lindsay has a lot going for it,” says Lensing, including the fact the plant is there, set up to do what they want, the availability of labor and the fact the Central Valley appears to be one of the best places to produce spinach with a crop that can be brought in several times a year.

Lensing says the company has talked to growers who seem interested and customers including the large private label firms like grocers who seek product. “We may do private label work right in the Lindsay plant,” he says.

Lensing says the cost to reopen the plant could run in the neighborhood of $7 million but “that’s what we are trying to figure out right now,” he says. Rumors that the plant would reopen “were natural in a small community” seeing the effort of the past few weeks in cleaning up the property.

The company recently paid a long standing county tax bill in excess of $300,000. Lensing says the company believes the equipment appraisal was far too large since the firm paid quite a bit less for the equipment than it was valued. Still the lien on the company property bill has been removed.

Lensing has worked with Console for the past 8 years as it battled with USDA that had guaranteed a loan with their lender Hibernia Bank. There were years of negotiations, appeals and litigation with the lender after USDA refused requests to lend the company enough for working capital resulting in closure of the facility. The recent effort does not include any USDA or other public guarantees. It does come at a time of affordable money rates for an investment like this, concedes Mr. Lensing. “We should know more in a few weeks.”

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Navy Seeks More Central Valley Air Space

San Joaquin Valley - The US Navy is seeking the use of Central Valley air space over the LNAS Lemoore as a training ground for its pilots. Expanding uses of the air space could have the effect of boosting the value of the base in the upcoming round of base closures in the US, says Tony Oliveira a member of the Kings County Board of Supervisors, noting the unpopulated wide open spaces surrounding the base. “As far as I know, we are the only military base on the west coast with zero encroachments,” notes base spokesman Dennis McGrath.

The new Military Operations Area (MOA) being requested is 30 miles wide by some 70 miles long - from about Wasco in the south to the Madera County border in the north - would permit training exercises in the space above the base and give pilots more vertical space to maneuver.

The formal review of the new MOA began in October of last year with the public comment period open now, says McGrath.

“We will be having two rounds of public comments,” says LNAS spokesman Dennis McGrath, after release of the draft document this summer, he says. The final draft of the air space could go to the Secretary of the Navy for decision by the end of the year, he says. “It may be operational in 2005,” says McGrath.

Currently LNAS Lemoore uses training air space some 200 miles away from the station either out to sea, in Nevada or the El Centro region. With the new designation the time ground staff will need to relocate for training exercises elsewhere those times will be less frequent, says McGrath.

Obviously the savings in time and jet fuel are major factors since planes can reach their training area in just five minutes and that will result in saving of fuel and tax dollars. Meanwhile the China Lake area is getting even more crowded, says the Navy. McGrath says he doesn’t expect much noise to be a problem in the large training area since the planes will fly at high altitudes. No ordinance will be used. “Bombing runs will still be done in Fallon Nevada,” says McGrath.

Under the new designation airplanes will be flying from 8000 to 27,000 ft flying over sparsely population areas on the valley’s westside.

Ground crews should be able to spend more time at home and spend more in the local economy notes the base’s web site which has a section on the web site called MOA under the base information sub section.

McGrath says besides naval aircraft use from Lemoore the Air National Guard squadron from Fresno will use the new MOA for their training flights as well.

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Big Money for Highway 99

Tulare County - It’s not a beautiful highway, heaven knows. But it’s our highway carrying the goods we produce to market every day and a flotilla of trucks and cars with people heading for work or to play in the Sequoias. At two lanes through all of Tulare County this key artery is often clogged and unsafe.

With state highway projects on hold and the state’s CalTrans budget cut - this news from Washington is very much welcome, say local authorities.

Now Highway 99 is in line for federal dollars from a pot of monies it never could qualify for before. All this is true if a bill passed in the House this week is signed by the President. Congressman Devin Nunes, who carried the bill, expects Mr. Bush to sign it. The Federal Transportation Bill designates Highway 99 as one of 54 corridors in the US considered “high priority”. The fund pays some $500 million a year, says Nunes spokesperson Justin Stoner.

“This means that much-needed improvements to Highway 99 will be eligible for millions more dollars to get the work done,” Mr. Nunes said. “The congested traffic on 99 poses driving hazards, contributes to our air quality problem and slows our agricultural economy. Ultimately, I would like to see Highway 99 become part of the national interstate system. This is a tremendous first step in the right direction.”

Once the bill becomes law, Highway 99 would become known as the California Farm-to-Market Corridor. It would be one of only 54 nationwide, and one of few within California. It will be called the California Farm to Market Corridor.

Corridors compete for the money each year which means CalTrans and local authorities like TCAG will draw up proposals for federal funds for projects like the plan to widen Highway 99 from Kingsburg through Tulare from 2 lanes each side to 3 lanes.

Route 99 is a major north-south route through the Central Valley and is vital to the Valley’s export-dependent agricultural sector. The proposed expansion will allow more lanes for truck traffic, increasing capacity and improving safety for all drivers.

Without this expansion, it is estimated that by 2010 the level of traffic will exceed Route 99's capacity, notes Congressman Cal Dooley who supports the bill.

Besides that special funding stream this fiscal year Highway 99 will get $17.8 million in Fresno and Tulare counties as well as $7.5 million for Tulare County to use on country roads - an increase from the year before.

In a strong bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives passed the federal transportation bill that includes a provision at the request of Rep. Devin Nunes to recognize Highway 99 as a high-priority corridor for special funding. The vote was 354-61.

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Sequoia Ranch Development Plans

by Peyton Ellas

Springville -Plans for developing Springville's Sequoia Ranch into a housing subdivision are in the early and exploratory phase, according to sources connected to the project. The 1300-acre property has been a fixture in the Springville area since the Borror Family first began raising cattle on it in 1930, although it has been owned by a group of investors under the partnership name Sequoia Ranch Estates since 1992.

John Martin, whose strategic planning firm last completed a market study of the property in 2001, says it is too early to determine with certainty whether any proposed development will even take place.

"There may be a development, there may be no development at all," he says. According to Martin, the Tulare County General Plan Update process, currently underway, has caused the partnership to consider plans for the property once again.

Fresno-based attorney Brian Wagner, representing the partnership, agrees that the county's overall planning review has rekindled interest in developing the property.

"We need to get moving on this," Wagner says. "We might want to bring a development proposal to the General Plan Update." He agrees that even the idea of developing the property is in its earliest stage and a number of options are possible.

Still, with the 13 parcels in question being zoned for subdivision for more than a decade, it is perhaps unlikely that some housing use will not ultimately be Sequoia Ranch's fate.

Tulare County Technical Planner Andrew Pacheco explains that the PD-F-M zone of Sequoia Ranch means that nearly any type of subdivision project is possible with appropriate filings. From the first step of a Preliminary Site Plan Review, actual building usually begins in six months to a year, according to Pacheco.

"But the filing of even the Preliminary plan is usually one of the last steps for the developers," says Pacheco. "Usually they have pretty much everything in place before they start the county process," -- a process which is often routine, absent protest or comment from the public, which would send the issue to the Board of Supervisors.

With any proposal in such an early stage, actual development of the property is most likely several years away. And although Martin says that it is likely that his Newport Beach, CA, firm, Martin & Associates, will likely soon be hired to complete another market study, he cautions that even this step has not been finalized.

The market study, which would be undertaken in the next two or three months, would include factors such as moving patterns, population growth projections, employment, and the land itself. Results from that study may determine in as little as four months if the partnership wishes to proceed, according to Marin. Wagner, however, says it is more likely that this exploratory phase would last as long as a year.

"We have no preconceived notions whatsoever," Martin says. Both he and Wagner insist, however, that any development of the property would be sensitive to the land and take into consideration the needs of the Springville community.

"We think it's a great community," says Wagner. "We want to complement it."

Martin, who attended last January's General Plan Update meeting in Springville, agrees.

"We know Springville is struggling. We feel we can help."

Wagner explains that any use of the land, which includes both the middle and north forks of the Tule River and therefore would include some of the most sought-after housing in the county, would include responsible and progressive land use ideas. Everyone involved in the process, he says, has an interest in preserving the land's beauty, and they are interested in pursuing ideas that involve large areas of open space with trails and clustered house sites.

"It's a beautiful piece of land," Wagner says, adding that only about 300 acres are feasible to build on. The remainder is either steep foothills or the two rivers, both features that add to the exceptional scenic beauty of the property.

"We will be conservation minded," he says.

Martin, who lectures regularly throughout California on community planning and site-sensitive development designs, strongly agrees.

"This can be done in a responsible way," he says. "In a way that involves resource conservation, energy efficiency, and maintains the scenic corridor."

And although Attorney Wagner declined to name the partnership's members at this time, Martin insists the development process, if it goes forward, will be "absolutely open."

"This will involve open discussion that will consider many viewpoints and needs," Martin states. "We will talk to as many of the stakeholders in the Springville area as we can."

These stakeholders, he says, would likely include Tulare County officials, the local water district, local land-trust and regional environmental groups, as well as local community groups and other business interests in the Springville area.

"Whoever we can talk to," Martin says. "We want to know what people think, what they want."

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Walmart Superstore
Big Retail Project In Porterville Begins Review

Porterville - Working with the City of Porterville, developer Ben Ennis has hired a consultant team to begin the environmental review of the town's largest retail project anchored by a new Walmart superstore. "We began the process a few weeks ago," says Ennis who has been working most of the year to tie up the land and begin the approval process for a 640,000 sq. ft. shopping center at Jaye and Highway 190.

City community development director Brad Dunlap confirms the process has begun despite the fact Ennis has yet to formally apply for the project. "We expect it the next few days," he says.

The project is named River Walk and faces the highway on a 77 acre parcel owned by Ted Cornell.

Ennis told the Valley Voice this week the EIR process would last "at least 8 months" and Dunlap says he believes that estimate could be optimistic. "We do plan to have a public hearing early in the process," says Dunlap - perhaps in the next few months, he says.

The scale of the River Walk project is similar to the City of Visalia's Packwood Creek project which is almost the same square footage in its first phase.

Ennis says he can't talk tenants yet and won't even go on record confirming that Walmart is the anchor tenant. But the site plan calls for a 210,000 sq. ft. store believed to be a proposed superstore selling groceries. That could mean Walmart would relocate from their current site on Henderson. Dunlap told the Voice that if Walmart would close their current store, the city might require the company to backfill the space with a new tenant.

The new shopping center would be right across the street from the new Home Depot and likely be a magnet for a score of new retailers to town helping to boost the city's sales tax revenue and keeping Porterville residents from heading out of town to do major shopping trips.

Brokers say this proposed shopping center could attract a number of new retailers to the Porterville area joining Walmart. Those could include Michael's, Ross, Marshalls and even a Kohls Department Store - the new outlet that is just opening in Visalia this month.

The presence of a Walmart superstore in the project sets the stage for a possible challenge as has been seen in virtually every other town Walmart has proposed such an outlet up and down the valley.

In recent activity a community group in Bakersfield succeeded in getting a halt to construction of a shopping center when the Court of Appeals ruled in favor only to have the court reverse itself a week later, in a ruling that favored the Walmart superstore.

In Hanford a community group is opposing the plan to build a new Walmart superstore as well and the city planning commission will hear the issue April 13th. Some 400 people showed up for a forum on the issue last week. In Lemoore a planned superstore has stirred some early opposition as well. In Visalia a planned superstore site was rejected by the city council recently.

If Walmart has opponents they may have found a way to get support as well - sometimes taking their case right to the people and the ballot box where they have won.

Kings County Supervisor Tony Oliveira - a college teacher - polled his class about the possibility of a new superstore and 80% were in favor. "The special interests and leadership may find fault but the consumer wants the stores," he maintains.

The presence of Walmart in a shopping center project can cause big delays to developers as seen in Clovis where developer Dave Paynter faces opposition to his plan.

In other Walmart news, look for a proposed Walmart in south Delano, say sources, in a location off Wollomes Rd. where Home Depot wants to build. The company had been looking at a County Line Rd. site previously.

In Hanford this week developer Mehmet Noyan who represents Walmart in the Central Valley announced that a developer was looking to buy the existing Walmart store from the company. In other locations the existing shopping center owners are buying older Walmart stores with the idea that Walmart signs a lease for 5 years allowing the big discounter to argue the store has new owners that will backfill it.

A similar situation is helping in Selma where Lowe's is interested in the existing Walmart and they city is telling them they must re-tenant the store in order to build a new one.

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