Visalia Walmart Store Construction To Start: The building contractor for the new Walmart Neighborhood Market at Demaree and Houston has picked up a building permit from the city last week and will begin construction of the new 40,000 sf supermarket this month. Shame Construction of Livermore is the builder. Walmart spokesperson refuses comment but City of Visalia permit says Walmart is tenant
Sequoia Mall has new women’s clothing store – M’Fasis – next to Hobby Lobby – that opened last month. The 9000 sf storefront was formerly Mode Five. M’Fasis has 5 locations in the Central Valley including one at the Tulare Outlet Mall.
Vacant Industrial Park Building To Be Bought By Perfection Pet Foods. Fast growing Perfection Pet Foods is expected to buy the former Food 4Less (Whitco Foods) warehouse in the Visalia Industrial Park. The 54,000 sf building on 8 acres would be used for warehousing to start says owner Kevin Kruse but would be the home to pet biscuit manufacturing later on, he says.”It made more sense to buy this warehouse rather than build a new one” says Kruse noting the building is close to their current manufacturing site. The purchase is set to close next week.
Foreclosed homes in Tulare County in the 1st quarter of 2012 were down 33% from the same quarter a year ago – 607 to 408. Statewide the number was down 48.5% says DataQuick.
Former Market Could Be County Office. Visalia Planning Commission will hear a plan to relocate the county Department of Mental Heath to the former Fairway Market building at 520 E Tulare Ave. The 38,452 sf building has been vacant since 2006.
County/Visalia & Tulare Near Hearings on Their General Plans. Tulare County, the City of Visalia and the City of Tulare are each nearing a milestone on their General Plan updates.
Winning the award for longest wait will be Tulare County who has been working on their 2030 General Plan update since 2003,almost 10 years. The long awaited growth plan will likely come to Board of Supervisors late this month says Dave Bryant,county planner noting there is no firm date yet.
In Visalia the General Plan Update is expected to come to the city council in September after a select committee gets one more look at it August 30. Expect a big debate on growth to follow.
In Tulare the city has to redraw portions of their General Plan in response to a court order based on a a lawsuit brought by Tulare activist Don Manro. In the past few days the city filed a Notice of Preparation for a new study that offered this summary.
“The City of Tulare is revising a General Plan Update that was published in 2007 and underwent CEQA review in 2008. The revision is addressing Tulare County’s Superior Court order requiring modifications to both the General Plan and the General Plan EIR. a) TOD Plan: In conjunction with the General Plan revision, the project includes preparation of a TOD Plan. TOD is a planning and urban design concept that calls for a mix of land uses centered on access to public transit. b) General Plan Revisions: Besides incorporating the TOD Plan, the General Plan revision will largely focus on court-identified modifications. c) Climate Action Plan: In addition to the analysis of the General Plan and TOD Plan, the EIR will analyze potential impacts associated with implementation of the Climate Action Plan, completed in April 2011.”