The buildings which once housed cookware and antique shops now
are home to a slightly different sort of marketplace.
Hollister – The buildings which once housed cookware and antique shops now are home to a slightly different sort of marketplace.
Three real estate offices have moved to San Benito Street, all of them within mere feet of one another.
“We welcome them,” said Brenda Weatherly, executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association. “It’s definitely a nice addition, and obviously good for other businesses.”
Local residents may have noticed well-established buildings downtown being renovated for their new purpose; Intero Real Estate is already operating out of the former Dorothy McNett’s Place, Nino Real Estate will be opening its doors in early spring and Ridgemark Realty will be situated in the Old Flower Mill building.
Those offices preparing to set up camp downtown say the move simply makes good business sense.
“We were growing too fast for our old office,” said Renee Kunz, vice president and managing partner of Intero Real Estate. “We’re the first contact with the community when someone is looking to buy a home in the area, and they always ask ‘Where’s a good restaurant? Where’s a good dry cleaner?’ Now, being so close, we have the ability to assist our customers and practice what we preach.”
A downtown location is also a boon for offices in need of increased visibility.
“My old office was behind locked gates, only golfers would visit me,” said Ken Bettencourt of Ridgemark Realty. “Being downtown is a good place to start… I feel that if you have real estate offices so close, it will work like car dealerships. They’ll have to compete and everyone gets a good deal.”
Local retailers, however, are less concerned with a competitive real estate market and more interested in what the dozens of new office employees can bring to downtown.
“I’m so excited I can barely stand it,” said Sheila Stevens, owner of the downtown boutique She’s and President of the HDA. “There’s a lot of shoppers in real estate, and now they have a chance to spend time downtown on their lunch hours and after work.”
Real estate offices are a positive way to fill up the vacant storefronts downtown, which is beneficial to neighboring businesses, said Liz Sparling, executive director of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce.
“A lot of the retail stores like to see service-oriented business coming in,” she said. “It’s been hard to make it in retail for the past few years, but being downtown is fun – you have all the hustle and bustle here. Everyone I’ve spoken to seems happy.”
“This is exactly what we’re aiming for, to be able to offer a little bit of everything,” Weatherly said. “And when customers from the real estate offices, especially those new to town, can see what we have here, they’ll get a taste for the heart of the community.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
