Construction to begin in 2009, according to company
officials
Construction of Lowe’s, the cornerstone of the first
bypass-oriented shopping center, Legacy Village, has been delayed
and developers are not sure how long it will be before ground
breaks on the project.
Construction to begin in 2009, according to company officials
Construction of Lowe’s, the cornerstone of the first bypass-oriented shopping center, Legacy Village, has been delayed and developers are not sure how long it will be before ground breaks on the project.
“At this point we’re waiting for Lowe’s and we expect it to be a short delay,” said Al Guerra, whose family is developing the Legacy Village shopping center that Lowe’s will anchor.
“They already own the property,” Guerra said. “They already have their building permit. I know it’s a delay and not anything more than a delay.”
Construction will begin in 2009, said Maureen Rich, a spokesperson for Lowe’s, in an e-mail.
“The real estate process can be long, and various factors can cause delays,” Rich said. “Our goal is always to build the best store on the best site for our customers, and timing is an important factor.”
The groundbreaking was scheduled for June 2008 but was cancelled. Construction will take about 10 months, Guerra said.
“Probably because of the economy, there’s not as much of a rush as there was,” Guerra said. “They did review all the stores that they were going to open, and they’re delaying some of them.”
Their building permit is paid for and ready, said Art Henriques, director of planning and building for San Benito County. They have not picked it up, which would start a 180 day time clock.
“If they paid for a permit and years went by, I guess we’d have to say something,” Henriques said. “It’s their call. We don’t normally push that.”
Lowe’s officials could not hook up to Hollister’s sewer system until the sewer moratorium lifts, said Bill Avera, Hollister’s development services director.
If construction started now, by the time it was complete storeowners would be able to hook up to Hollister’s sewer system, Avera said.
Delaying construction was a business decision by Lowe’s, Avera said.
“They’re not starting all over the place, and we’re just one of the bunch,” Avera said. “I do not believe in a million years does it have anything to do with the moratorium.”
Lowe’s officials cannot sell the property, Guerra said.
“They may own the property, but part of the contract was for them to open within a certain amount of months,” Guerra said.
Guerra does not know how much time they have, he said.
Even with the delay, Lowe’s is having a positive effect on the city of Hollister, said Monica Johnson, a member of the Hollister City Council.
More companies are interested in Hollister than city officials were expecting, Johnson said.
“The fact that a place like Lowe’s is going to be coming in, there are other people who are interested who might not have been,” Johnson said. “What I would like people to know is that there are things happening, even if they don’t see it.”
Delaying construction will save Lowe’s officials money, Johnson said.
The original plan was to install a septic system so that Lowe’s could open before the sewer moratorium ended, said Frank Guerra, whose family is developing Legacy Village. That is no longer necessary, Frank said.
Lowe’s will probably be the first business in Legacy Village to open, Guerra said.
“We’re still searching for tenants,” Guerra said. “We won’t start without Lowe’s unless we have several other tenants.”
Although Guerra said there has been some interest by business owners in Legacy Village, he declined to name them.
“We’re working with a real estate company,” Guerra said. “We’re very much interested to get national-type companies here.”
