Category: Central Valley

City studies possible expansion of the Visalia Industrial Park

City administration is doing an Industrial Land Inventory Analysis this spring that could result in expansion of the industrial park that has been experiencing rapid growth. As of this writing there are several 1 million sf of buildings under construction with more lining up.

The bad news is that the Kings River watershed is just 68% of normal for this date and melting fast.The good new is that the King River Water Association will now use  the highly accurate Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO), an aerial snow monitoring tool that provides precise measurements of depth for every square foot of snow within the watershed. Combined with the conventional surveys, ASO provides a complete and near perfect picture of snow water content that is robust against climate change. 


The first of this season’s ASO flights over a portion of the Kings River watershed took place March 2. ASO-gathered data will be combined with this week’s March 1 on-the-ground snow surveys. This winter’s continued drought conditions unfortunately have continued to be reflected in the latest snow survey findings, the Kings River Water Association announced this month.

The 23 remote Kings watershed courses measured showed average snowpack water content of 15.4 inches, 68% of the normal to date or 55% of April 1, the date upon which Sierra snow conditions typically peak. Snow depths are averaging 40.2 inches. KRWA and Pacific Gas and Electric Company staff took the surveys. 

“Southern and eastern mountainsides looked melted out,” KRWA Assistant Watermaster Matt Meadows said. “That is an indication of less coverage than typical for this time of year despite the numbers indicated on the snow survey.” 

“ASO is an addition to our existing snow survey and snow sensor programs,” said Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen. “What it does is greatly improve accuracy and our knowledge. This information gives water managers the most accurate data available to analyze how much water will reach Pine Flat Reservoir and when, allowing the optimization of the various demands for precious water supplies.” 

ASO technology was developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. LiDAR is similar to radar but relies on near-infrared light to measure the distance of objects. Because the measurements are being taken continuously overhead through a wide geographic area, ASO is like putting a snow depth sensor in every square foot of snow in the mountains. 

“ASO provides invaluable information that is not otherwise available, most importantly information about the rate of melt that provides a real opportunity to optimize reservoir operations for water supply, flood control, and instream requirements,” Haugen says.

-March 5,2022-

Shaking off any Covid 19 worries, building permits in Visalia climbed in all categories during the first two months this new year the city reports. That includes both single family and multi-family permits issued to builders Single family numbers were up 51% and and 30% for apartments. Home builders got permits for 82 new units in February compared to 38 for the same month in 2021.

In another category – residential alterations- people fixing up their homes- climbed by 60% in Visalia and new commercial projects added up to an eye popping $93 million largely based on permits recorded for Ace Hardware’s new million sf distribution center.

Also in the commercial sector- alterations and sign permits- climbed 500% year to date as owners poured in $28 million in this category compared to $4 million for the same 2 month period in 2021.

The total value of all permits for January and February hit $183 million vs $60 million for the first two months of last year.

Like other locations in California, people are paying more for the new or existing home they are buying.

Movoto Real Estate website says “the median list price of homes in Visalia, CA was $415,045 in February 2022 , compared to $379,900 in 2021. Visalia, CA was a seller’s market in February 2022, which means that there are more people looking to buy than there are homes available.”

To make up for inventory shortages, Visalia, Tulare is ramping up scores of new subdivisions at a lower price point than Visalia. Also a national builder is talking to Exeter about a new home subdivision there.

Can you say boom?

pic. new Ace Hardware complex

-February 27,2022-

Plans for two new large industrial buildings were highlighted in recent weeks as Seefried Industries and Fowler Packing each filed new plans for warehouses in the booming Visalia Industrial Park.

Seefried, based in Phoenix, is the same company who is well underway on construction of a 1.1 million sf facility for Ace Hardware right next door to this new 535,540sf “speculative” building on 39 acres. The Ace building is on 80 acres.The two parcels were acquired at the same time.

Seefried’s latest project is at the NE corner of Ave 76 and W Goshen are just south of Ace. As a spec project no tenant for this project has been announced. The complex includes parking for 545 cars and 1760 trailer parking stalls.

Access to the site will be from N Plaza Drive to the east and Route 76 to the west. There is a private access road to the north (From Plaza Drive) that will provide two full-access driveways with code required fire access around the perimeter.

Construction ground-breaking is estimated to occur in the 4th Quarter of 2022 and full completion of the project in 2023. Construction operations will adhere to all state, regional and local requirements, says the operational statement filed by the developer.

This facility could accommodate both a single or multi-tenant end user(s) (designed for 1-4 tenants).

The second building project is being proposed by Fowler Packing (G4 Enterprises,LTD)who is the Parnagian family based in Fresno.Called the Duarte Industrial project , this is a 15 acre warehouse east of N. Kelsey Street and south of W. Goshen Avenue. This the second filing of the project at site plan review after initial comments were received by the developer.

The proposed development consists of the construction and operation of an office/warehouse style, concrete tilt-up shell building that is approximately 313,000 square feet. The proposed building will have four (4) offices and approximately 48 loading docks on the south side of the building. The project will provide approximately 382 standard parking stalls for employee parking including eight (8) ADA stalls and future EV charging stations.

Access to the site is provided off of N. Kelsey Street. Operational times are typical of warehouse style facilities and may operate up to 24 hours a day and 7 days a week since it will be a warehouse for distribution of goods.

G4 Enterprises Ltd is not new to Visalia having acquired Midstate 99 Distribution Center, a 790,000-square-foot industrial complex in Visalia, for $33.4 million in 2017.

G4 has been busy in Fresno where they brought in Amazon west of Highway 99 a few years ago. Now the developer is being thwarted on expanding in West Fresno due to opposition from community groups. At the same time, negotiations with community groups lead to an agreement from G4 to reinforce homes in south central Fresno in response to added traffic from a second Amazon sorting facility near the first.

At a hearing last spring, developer Leland Parnagian noted that “The U.S. is really undergoing a shift in how people buy things from in-store to online and that’s really driving changes in employment around the country.”

Also in Fresno, Seefried is breaking ground on a second “last mile delivery” warehouse in Fresno for Amazon.No such facility is known to be happening in Visalia, as of yet.

-February 25,2022-
Faraday launches production model despite setbacks

Looking to move-on from its embarrassing news that the company had misrepresented demand for its proposed high-end electric FF-91 car, Faraday Future is live streaming the announcement that is being called the evolution of their production model on February 23 at 7PM, after this article goes to press.

Faraday Future has had its highs and lows ever since it showed the FF-91 model back in 2018, but now wants to move past the controversy to focus on the car itself that is to be manufactured in Hanford. The FF-91 sports 1,050 horsepower and can ramp up to 60 mph in 2.39 second with a top speed of 155 mph. The company says the electric car can travel 376 miles on its battery pack.

A competitor to the Tesla Model X, the car has been delayed from its original production date of 2018. The company recently admitted to misleading its investors but now seems determined to get the car on the road to be made in Hanford.

Kings-Tulare remain epicenter for subsidence

The California Department of Water Resources released new satellite-based data that show subsidence – or the sinking of the land surface due to excessive groundwater pumping – continues in the state.

The areas experiencing the most subsidence during Water Year 2021 are in the San Joaquin Valley, with a maximum of 1.1 feet of subsidence in the greater Corcoran area. That includes part of both Kings and Tulare counties (see map)- what is the state’s most impacted area. Data show that in WY 2021 subsidence of greater than 0.5 feet per year expanded to more areas than observed in WY 2020. However, fewer areas experienced higher rates of subsidence than at the end of the last drought in 2016.
“Californians rely on groundwater during drought, so it’s not surprising that land in some areas is continuing to sink,” said DWR Director, Karla Nemeth. “But it is good news that, compared to previous droughts, subsidence is slowing.

Foster Farms pulls 3 applications to expand in Kings County

Withe rumors that the company is on the sales block, Livingston- based Foster Farms has pulled three applications to open and expand chicken farm operations in Kings County according to Community Development Director Chuck Kinney.

Last June, we reported that Zacky Farms ranches in Kings County that grew turkeys were being converted by Foster Farms to raise chickens or turkeys. Foster Farms acquired the ranches out of bankruptcy in 2019. The former Zacky Farms ranches will now remain idle, perhaps until a new owner is in place at Foster Farms.

Westlands gets zero allocation from CVP

On Feb 23, the Bureau of Reclamation announced an initial allocation of 0% for Westlands Water District and other south-of-Delta Central Valley Project (CVP) irrigation contractors. This is the fourth time in the last decade the south-of-Delta irrigation contractors have received a 0% allocation. Westlands says “with the water district, the continued drought conditions in 2021 resulted in over 200,000 acres fallowed, countless lost jobs, and thousands of acres of food unharvested.”
Solar on canals – first project launched in Valley

Relying on a study by UC Merced researchers, California recently approved a project to cover two canals with solar panels in the Central Valley.
This is a $20 million collaborative project funded by the State of California, involving the Turlock Irrigation District (TID), the Department of Water Resource, the UC Merced, and a solar firm. The project may offer an opportunity to shade California canals to halt evaporation. The company will erect solar panel canopies that span the canal from one side to the other.
Researchers say that a solar panel array over water could generate a 20% to 50% higher return on investment compared to installing the same panels on the ground.

South Sierra sees first snow in two months

This week’s storm was much more substantial in the Valley’s foothills and mountains than on the Valley floor, says Hanford meteorologist Carlos Molina. China Peak near Huntington Lake says they received five to eight inches of fresh snow with cold weather likely to keep the snowpack intact for a while. Molina says while Hanford got just under tenth of an inch, Three Rivers got a third of an inch and Wolverton near Giant Forest saw 6 inches of new snow with a few more possible Wednesday.

“This is the first precip since late December” meaning it has been nearly two months, during the height of the rainy season, since the Valley has seen any precipitation with the Sierra. The Mountains lost much of the good snowpack that was built up in late 2021 due to warm weather.
The latest storm was vigorous in the Tahoe area and Tioga Pass in Yosemite, says Molina, where the pass saw about a foot of snow. As for new storms, Molina says there is a chance we could get wet again around March 2.
Vegetable productions falls – imports up

Vegetable production in the US and Kings County has dropped in recent years even as vegetable imports are up 200%. Americans are eating their vegetables year round these days, providing an opportunity to foreign grown products.

In 2021, the nation’s production for the 26 estimated vegetable and melon crops totaled 679 million cwt, down 4 percent from 2020.

In Kings County 2020 vegetable production including processing tomatoes totaled 37,515 acres while vegetable production without tomatoes was 7924 acres. By contrast, in Kings in 2014, total veggies including tomatoes was on 47,210 acres with vegetables besides tomatoes adding up to 13,207 acres.

The value of utilized production for 2021 US vegetable crops was $12.7 billion, down 10 percent from the previous year.

The US receives fresh vegetables from more than 125 different countries, but most imports originate from Mexico and Canada. In 2020, Mexico accounted for 77 percent of U.S. fresh vegetable import volume, and Canada represented 11 percent.
Both gain an edge by offering greenhouse based imports as well as organic options, which increased choices for consumers. While conventional and field-grown fresh vegetables still account for most imports, organic and greenhouse vegetables are expanding market reach.

Between 1998 and 2020, the volume of fresh vegetable imports increased nearly 200 percent, and the value of fresh vegetable imports grew to exceed fresh exports by $7.6 billion, more than double the same figure a decade earlier.

Summer is historically the primary market window for U.S. producers but fresh vegetable import volumes from Mexico during the summer months have shown substantial increases in the past 15 years.For example, Bell pepper import volume increased by 742 percent to 127 million pounds in the summers of 2018–20 from 15 million pounds in the summers of 2008–10.

Cattle numbers fall – prices climb

The US Department of Agriculture in its annual Cattle report issued Jan. 31 estimated the total US cattle herd on Jan. 1 down 2% from Jan. 1, 2021. The number declined for a third consecutive year and was the smallest since 2016.

The USDA estimated the total herd at 91,901,600 head, including 30,125,000 beef cows, down 2.3% from 2021, and 9,375,000 milk cows, down 0.7%.

The USDA inventory data, and industry outlooks, point to declining beef cattle numbers and continued strong exports, which suggests tighter domestic beef supplies and potentially higher beef prices.

pic one is subsidence credit DWR
2 Attachments

February 25,2022-

College of Sequoias enrollment this year is down about 14% compared to pre-pandemic levels, says college president Brent Calvin.”It is not that high in Tulare or Hanford” campuses, he adds. ”During the past two years we lost track of about 10% of our former students who just disappeared” says Calvin. The long time college officer says he senses the college is ready to move on from recent times of frustration and turmoil due to Covid.

That can be seen in the number of students attending classes in person, up from 40% last spring to 60% now and expected to be around 70% by next fall.

The pandemic has hit California community colleges hard as many young people’s plans have been disrupted and dreams postponed. Some colleges report enrollment off much higher around 30%, says Calvin.

At West Hills College Lemoore the current spring 2022 headcount is 1% lower compared to the same date (1/17/2021) last spring, and 16% lower when compared to the same date (1/17/2020) for spring 2020 (pre-pandemic).

West Hills fall 2021 enrollment ended with similar numbers compared to prior fall terms: 3% lower than fall 2020, and 17% when compared to fall 2019. But there is reason to hope.

It’s a trend not just here but across the state and country.

The California Community Colleges system suffered a 14.8 percent enrollment decrease — a loss of 318,800 students — during the 2020-21 academic year compared to the previous year, says California education website Ed Source.

Total student enrollment fell to 1,833,843 students from 2,152,463 the prior academic year, the first time enrollment dropped below two million students across the 116-college system in at least three decades.

Another report says California’s fall 2021 undergraduate enrollment dropped by nearly a quarter-million students since pre-pandemic fall 2019, according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

Community colleges have been the hardest hit. Their enrollment is down more than 13% in the last two years, says Morra Lee Keller of the nonprofit National College Attainment Network. Most notably, “we’re seeing drops in enrollment in low-income and first-generation students.”

Reason for hope

James Preston, President of West Hills College Lemoore says he believes things have plateaued after the college decided to bring back most students for in-person classes.”There is a big digital divide in Kings County.” says Preston. Despite 70% of students coming back to class, the infection rates have stayed low by requiring masks and installing an air filtration system in buildings. Even now, with the uptick in omicron infections, West Hills responded by pushing back the start-date for Spring class to January 31 in hopes “this fog will blow over.” Preston has been at the college for decades but just started his term as President this month.

To encourage students to come back to the college,West Hills is offering a $1,000 financial aid grant for full time students that may help make ends meet.

COS offers a similar grant to enrolled students.

West Hills enrollment is about 60 percent female as fewer males decide not to continue their education in this time of uncertainty.COS says their ratio is closer to 55 /45 in favor of females.

Preston says during the two-year pandemic college recruiters did not visit high schools to make the pitch to graduating students to continue their education. But now they are back at it. “We just visited 12 local high schools to get the message out” he adds.

One piece of good news is that transfers from West Hills to 4-year colleges is up 13%, says Preston.

-January 28,2022-
Faraday Future (NASDAQ: FFIE), with an auto plant in Hanford has requested and received a 15-day extension to file its compliance plan with NASDAQ. The Company now has until February 1, 2022 to file its compliance plan.

The company previously disclosed that the filing of its third quarter 2021 10-Q would be delayed as a result of an internal review. A “Special Committee” was formed house to investigate allegations of inaccurate disclosures, including claims contained in a report issued by an investor with a history of seeking to drive down public companies’ stock prices for its own benefit.Faraday Future says it “is working diligently toward the goal of being in a position to file the Q3 Form 10-Q, as well as its Form 8-K with the Company’s third quarter 2021 earnings release and its amended Registration Statement on Form S-1 as soon as possible following the conclusion of the Special Committee investigation.” Upon the Company’s filing of its Q3 Form 10-Q, the Company will again become compliant with a NASDAQ Listing Rule. Faraday Future stock has declined from around $6 a share January 1 to $4.87 January 26.

Final EIR on 825 home Lacey Ranch gets hearing

The Lemoore Planning Commission will hold a hearing April 11 on the county’s largest home project, the 825-unit Lacy Ranch being developed by Fresno’s Assemi Group.The big project is just north of Lemoore city limits and east of Highway 41.

The Lacey Ranch Area Master Plan, will develop 156 acres of land into a planned residential community with a mix of single- family and multi-family housing units. The project will be constructed in four phases with a mix of housing including:

• ±164 compact lots with an average lot size of 4,500 square feet
• ±310 medium lots with an average lot size of 6,500 square feet
• ±73 estate lots with an average lot size of 9,500 square feet
• ±145 multifamily units at 20 units per acre
• ±59 multifamily units at 12 units per acre
The project includes four parks for a total of 7.9 acres and 1.64 acres of trail area. So far the city has not received any formal opposition to the project.

The Assemi Group has built thousands of new homes in the Valley under the name Granville Homes. Several other large home projects are underway in Lemoore, west of Hwy 41.But the 825 home Lacey Ranch is by far the largest. Lemoore has seen some 180 new homes built in the past three years.

-January 15,2022-

First approved by Tulare County in 2018 the Sequoia Gateway Business Park project has yet to build any of its proposed developments.But that has not kept them from proposing an even larger project being heard by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors February 1.The approval requires an addition to the project’s EIR.

The applicant now wants to build 1.5 million square feet of mixed commercial uses that would include a 7-story “destination hotel” with up to 700 rooms.The hotel would eclipse any hotel in town with square footage of near 800,000sf on 36 acres counting an attached indoor water park.The business park also includes two other 50,000sf hotels as well. Altogether, the planned business park would require nearly 4,000 parking places.

Great Wolf Resorts would operate the hotel/waterslide -similar to its new Manteca operation that includes a waterpark,restaurant,arcades,spas and children activities. The Chicago-based Great Wolf Resorts operates 19 such resorts around the country with the Manteca operation only opening last summer. Like many projects, the Manteca resort suffered Covid-related delays.The developer was going to build in Gilroy but faced fierce opposition from nearby residents, who reportedly packed Gilroy City Council meetings to voice their opposition. Instead they picked Manteca.

The company has been valued at $2.9 billion, operated as a private joint venture that includes the Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners.

Tulare County Economic Development manager Mike Washam says the hotel operator has been looking for a site in the South Valley and has now focused on this Vlsialia site instead of near Bakersfield.

Washam says the company executives plan to fly out from Chicago to attend the October 1 public hearing. He adds the hotel,once it obtains all entitlements, could require three years before it opens perhaps in 2025.

Already the County Planning Commission approved the entire project this past week with no opposition although there was little public notice.

Besides the resort, Sequoia Gateway wants to permit some 375,000sf of regional retail uses and 150,000sf of medical office – 4 gas stations,several sit down restaurants and fast food – all on 127 acres of current ag land.The project is just south the Visalia Airport runway, off Caldwell and east of 99. New environmental filings are needed to be approved for the expanded project.

To date no commercial projects we are aware of, has completed purchase of their lots with both Valley Children’s and Kaweah Health projects still in escrow.A visit to the site finds only a monument sign.

Plans for fast food and gas stations have yet to rise out of the ground although the streets are put in.But Washam says by this spring construction of several of the Phase One tenants will be seen.The larger scale of the project may fuel worries in Visalia that this commercial development outside the city boundary may take away business from Mooney Blvd/Plaza and Downtown.

The staff report on the project dismisses danger from having a larger project and 100ft hotel next to the airport flight path even though a plane accident killing 4 just a few months ago crashed just across the freeway.But letter from a FAA representative says they would not oppose the project as long as the building height does not exceed 100ft.

To accommodate the large project, the 99/Caldwell Interchange, currently programmed for completion in 2024,will be needed to handle the traffic. Other Great Wolf Resorts attract a half million visitors a year and offer 600 to 800 jobs.The hotel advertises itself as a family getaway.

One tenant may get some positive buzz if it moves forward – Dutch Bros Coffee wants a site here according to Washam, saying they have already applied for a permit.

The Airport Land Use Commission reviewed the project’s new height allowance for consistency with their 2018 finding of Tulare County Comprehensive Airport Land Use Plan (CALUP) consistency.

If built as advertised, the county could see annual tax revenue of $9 million a year.

When the Sequoia Gateway project was approved back in 2018 it was opposed by Sierra Club and Visalia Council member Greg Collins. The applicants said at that time they would look to attract a major highway commercial user to the large open space site along Highway 99. Critics pointed to its location near the airport and worried it could pose a danger if crowds visited the site.