-April 20,2019-
The Visalia City Council is weighing offers to sell 17 acres the city owns on West 198 near Shirk Ave in closed session last week.
Assistant City Manager Mario Cifuentes says multiple parties are interested.
The property is vacant and carries a 8707 W Hillsdale address.The notice does not reveal any party making an offer.
But the council is expected to have the property appraised for a possible sale.
This reporter speculated the buyer could be a possible hotel operator using information from a site plan review application.
But a more likely buyer could be home builders as the land is surrounded by single family homes and the market for home building has picked up in town.
In a site-plan review application submitted in February by applicant RAMM Hospitality of Bakersfield headed by Raj Verma, the applicant proposed to build a 4-story Hilton Garden Inn at this location.
The same party is building a Residence Inn at 205 Plaza Drive. He has also indicated interest in another site on Plaza as well.The company website shows both hotels in Visalia as “future projects.” The company has 14 properties, mostly in California.
The land is the same piece that has been hotly debated at the council chambers in years past with council member Greg Collins favoring a plan back in 2016 to plant trees on the land to enhance the “scenic corridor” and retain some ag uses. In 2016 by a 3 to 2 vote the council rejected a budget item to spend $105,000 to plant walnut trees on the 17 acres.Then council member Warren Gubler led the revolt against the expenditure arguing instead the city should sell most of the property to develop for new homes.
“With a tight budget, the city’s general fund could really use the million dollars or so that could come from the sale (along with saving the $105,000 tree planting fee). Anyway we don’t need to be in the walnut business in this case.”
The majority on council today is likely of the same mind even though Collins will put up a battle.
The land does carry a 200ft setback from the highway to help maintain the green look as you enter Visalia on 198. Council may try to change that.