-March 5,2019-
Visalia: Main Street stores eye move east
Visalia developer JR Shannon is developing more new retail spaces along east Main St this month according to plans filed withe City of Visalia.
Next to the new brew pub and Stacked Hamburgers, Shannon is planning to open two more side-by-side storefronts at 601 East Main. According to the filing one of the spaces could be leased by Sierra Bicycle Werks who already has a long time location at 123 E Main St.
“We haven’t signed all the papers yet but we are looking at the possibility of moving east” says owner David Mendonca who bought the business last September.The new space won’t be much bigger than the space they already have but ”it seems like that is where Downtown is moving” figures Mendoca. He adds that the 2 new food and drink places are drawing a crowd and “it’s our demographic”.
This was once the former car sales part of town and then when they left, antique stores moved in. Now its seem the place to be. Rents are more affordable as an added bonus.
The other new store moving this direction, also a JR Shannon project, is Pitty’s BBQ looking to locate an open flame wood fired grill eatery at 509 E Main, a location being vacated by a hair salon.The applicant for the new BBQ is Kathern and Joseph Aguilar.
The city council few year back helped nurture this trend when they permitted new brew projects along East Main.
Tulare eyes purchase of vacant court building
The City of Tulare has interest in purchasing the old Tulare Courthouse building, vacant since 2012 and located right next door to the City Hall on Kern.
The 1950s-era building is owned by Tulare County who no longer has need for it says Tulare County General Services Director John Hess. The building is two story with some 20,000 sq.ft.
The city discussed the possible purchase of the building in closed session this week.
City General Services Director Steve Bonville says the city, if they decide to buy it, would study possible uses for the space before deciding if it would keep or demo the building.”We know it has asbestos and ADA issues.” says Bonville. But”long term the space would be a good fit for the city as we grow” given its proximity to city hall and the police station. “We could end up owning the entire square block”he adds. Bonville says currently the city has departments scattered around town.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Coming To Tulare
O’Reilly Auto Parts has purchased 1.3 acres of land at 315 North J ST in Tulare with plans to build a new store there. The auto parts retailer bought the land from the Orosco Group.
City planner Josh McDonnell says construction of a new store would likely take most of this year.