Links Plan Retirement Sale – Building Sold To Sam Sciacca
Links Men’s and Women’s Wear, a business that has been a mainstay of Downtown Visalia for some 73 years will be hanging it up in the new year. Owners Bob and Tom Link plan a retirement sale starting in November through the holidays as he and brother Tom plan to close the landmark clothier.
Located at 115 E Main, Bob Links says their building that they own has now been sold.
”I will be be looking for the next adventure in my life”quips Link. He says the building that houses their store has been in the family for more than 40 years. The business started by their father Joe Link has been Downtown since 1941.Bob Link joined the enterprise in 1959.
Life long Visalians Bob and Tom have both been involved with civic life and the rebirth of Downtown Visalia as one of most successful Downtowns in the San Joaquin Valley.
Bob Link has been a city council member since 1999 and has served as both mayor and vice mayor. Tom has been busy with the Downtown merchant and PBID organizations, the new sports park and earned an award for 2012 Visalia Chamber of Commerce “Man of the Year.”
If the Links are big Downtown boosters – the buyer of the building – Sam Sciacca – is pouring his money made from recent sales of some walnut holdings into Downtown where he says ”the future is bright.”
Sciacca says while all approvals are not yet in place he hopes to remodel the 9000sf building to leave retail on the ground floor and add as many as 6 new residential units in the two upper floors.
This would not be the first time Sciacca, a realtor in his day job, has done something like this. You will remember that Sam and wife Marlene bought the Togni building across the street a few years back and have remodeled a portion for Marlene’s business Chelsea Street Boutique with an apartment upstairs that has been rented out for years.”The renter loves it there” he says.There has been interest in building more residential in the Downtown area that also includes a unit above Crawdaddys and now several planned units on Acequia in the upper floor of a new dentist building.
Sciacca says just who will be taking the ground floor retail being vacated by Links (about 3000sf) is not clear but ” hopefully another clothier to continue the Links tradition.”
Visalia home builders permitted 57 new homes in October, the largest number of the year. Home building activity was already up 38% through September. Valuation in October was $14.2 million, also highest of 2013.
Trend of converting former car showrooms in east Visalia to office use continues with a plan being heard at the Visalia Planning Commission November 12 to remodel the 16,700sf – former Pontiac dealership building at 700 E Mineral King to office use. First in line will be property owner Don Groppetti’s radio station that will relocate there.
State of California and TCAG are wrestling with how many affordable houses should be built in Tulare County over the next 9 years. TCAG’s population projections suggests we might need around 23,000 while the latest state estimate says we should build 31,000 units.That would mean Visalia would need to insure the city offers a third more low income targeted homes than planned now says Josh McDonnell, city planner.
Landmark Oak Pit Restaurant in Porterville will reopen November 13,now owned by the Tule River Tribal Council. Located at 615 N Main, the popular steakhouse closed in 2012 but the tribe took on the project adding to a a growing list of off-reservation endeavors. The tribe owns Eagle Feather Trading Post along Lake Success as well as the Eagle Feather Trading Post on the way to the Coast at Reef City.
Tulare Outlet Mall will get a new shoe store for the holidays as German-owned Rack Room Shoes opens its first California store north of Calexico. The store remodel will start in November and be open in time for Christmas.In 1984, Deichmann Schuhe of Germany, the largest privately held shoe retailer in the world, made its first investment in the United States by buying the Lerner’s chain. Through the direction of Deichmann Schuhe, Rack Room Shoes began a period of accelerated growth,relocating its U.S. headquarters to a 72,000 square foot facility in Charlotte N.C. Today, Rack Room Shoes has over 400 stores in 26 states.
The vacant storefront along 198 at the Farmersville interchange, formerly Starbucks will now be a Taco Bell with the Subway relocating to a new building across the parking lot.
California gas prices fell 20 cents in October with the Eagle Feather Trading Post on 190 offering some of the cheapest gas in the county at $3.29 according to Gas Buddy. Gasoline is below $3 in few states in the Midwest this week. It’s $3.43 at the Visalia Costco. Friday the price of oil fell below $95 a barrel for the first time since June, a huge bonus for the consumer.
