Redevelopment agency members consider projects
Hollister officials have $20 million in RDA funds to start
projects around downtown and in other zoned places in the city,
such as the West Gateway and the Hollister Airport.
Redevelopment agency members consider projects
Hollister officials have $20 million in RDA funds to start projects around downtown and in other zoned places in the city, such as the West Gateway and the Hollister Airport.
Members of Hollister’s city council, sitting as the Redevelopment Agency (RDA), have roughly $20 million dollars to spend on redevelopment, said April Wooden, Hollister’s RDA manager.
The money must be spent on projects in the redevelopment area, Wooden said, and that covers about 45 percent of Hollister.
Of the $20 million, half must be spent on affordable housing, Wooden said. The other half can be spent on non-housing projects, Wooden said.
The group will have even more money if they decide to approve a bond for $12 million, a move they have the power to decide without voters, Wooden said.
Members of the RDA have identified several projects including the renovation of the Holland Hotel and the Granada Theater, demolishing buildings at Fremont School, and design work and implementation of the streetscape on San Juan Road, an extension of Fourth Street.
Renovating the Holland Hotel and the Granada Theater would serve as catalysts for downtown Hollister’s economy, Wooden said. The Holland Hotel is located above the Broken Wing bar on San Benito Street.
As the hotel project planned for the 400 block of San Benito Street has stalled, bringing back the Holland Hotel makes sense, Wooden said.
“People that stay in hotels usually end up spending money in the area,” Wooden said. “If the Holland Hotel is successful, somebody else might say, ‘wow, a boutique hotel is successful. Let’s do another one.'”
“I like the idea of putting some of these downtown vacant spaces back to work,” said Larry Otis, a co-owner of the Broken Wing.
“I’m just concerned about how these two businesses are going to cohabitate,” Otis said. “I’d have people trying to sleep above me. I hope the second floor would be enough of a buffer.”
Financial assistance for both projects could take the form of a loan, Wooden said.
“We need to do some feasibility studies to see if it even makes sense to do at this point,” Wooden said.
The Fremont School site is also on their list of improvements.
“Our role is to get those buildings off of that site and get it ready for something else,” Wooden said.
City staff is writing a proposal for the demolition work for the Fremont School site.
“We would consider making the demolition of those structures part of the overall bid package for the construction,” Wooden said. She added the site might be a good location for a new fire station.
If the RDA were to float a bond, one of the projects it might pay for would be renovation of the downtown fire station on East Street, Wooden said.
The downtown fire station was built as a tractor garage in 1941, said Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services manager. It was turned into a fire station in 1976, Avera said.
The fire station has termite damage, kitchen facilities need improvement and the sleep area needs to be expanded, among other issues.
In addition the bond would provide money for the city staff to purchase the property left vacant by GAF Leatherback last summer on Hillcrest Road. The asking price is $4 million, Wooden said.
“We would like to buy the property. It’s in a great location without being right downtown,” Wooden said.
Studies of the property would be needed before RDA members buy the property.
To determine if a bond makes sense in the current economy, RDA members hired consultants from the Rosenow Spevacek Group Inc., a Santa Ana based firm. The report will cost $25,000, Wooden said.
