-April 10,2020-
Some developers are not halting their building plans in Visalia despite the virus shutdown of the economy with a number of projects getting a hearing in coming days. Here is a snapshot of just a few of them.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
Based in Louisiana, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers has some 500 fast food restaurants nationwide. The privately held company wants to build a new eatery at 3501 S Mooney – in front of the Sequoia Mall.
Texas Roadhouse Restaurant
Kentucky -based Texas Roadhouse, a publicly traded company, wants to open a new 7500sf restaurant on Mooney at Visalia Parkway on the southwest corner. Across from Target, it would be part, a larger 29 acre shopping center seeking approval for this vacant land.
Other businesses looking to build at this location are Les Schwab Tires and a10,000sf Kern Schools Credit Union building. Also part of the center is new 5 acre CarMax dealership.It also includes anew 7-11 gas and convenience store.
This shopping center has a hearing April 11 with the planning commission.
Right across Mooney (SE corner of Mooney and Visalia Parkway) there are plans for another shopping center that would include a new 21,000sf Aldi grocery store. The project the has a hearing at the same meeting and faces criticism from city planners that grocery stores are not allowed on the Mooney corridor. But the applicant and the company are appealing to the planning commission that they have regional appeal and offer specialty food items that should allow them to qualify as a “speciality food store that is allowed. The Aldi store would require an annexation into the city -part of a multi-phase 96 acre project.
The site plan shows two fast food pads on the Mooney frontage with a convenience store.It also includes a 126 unit new home subdivision.
Intriguingly, the site plan includes a specialty food store listed as a 15,000sf building next to the Aldi.The average size of a Trader Joe’s store is around 15,000 sq ft, roughly a third of the size of your typical grocery store. Aldi and Trader Joes are owned by sister companies, both German owned.No word if this could be the long awaited Trader Joes.
Big multi-family projects
Several new multi-family projects are slated for development in Visalia according to a recent filing. On the north side of town The Reserve at Ritchie Ranch wants to build two market-rate projects – one 163 units and the other 219 units.The projects are near Riggin and Akers.
Industrial Park
Visalia CSG LLC wants to build a 4MW solar project on open land in the Industrial Park at 7227 W Doe.
Advanced Career Institute wants to build a new 9.25 acre truck driving and welding school and a new 10,000sf metal building in the Visalia Industrial Park.
Quail Park North Memory Care open
The Kaweah Delta-sponsored Quail Park at Shannon Ranch Memory Care unit that is part of the larger adult residential retirement complex under construction has opened and is now enrolling residents. The project has several partners with KD including the Shannon family.