The developer with plans to build a five-story commercial
building, which might include a small hotel, on the corner of San
Benito and Fourth streets is hoping to start construction as soon
as the building moratorium is lifted.
Hollister – The developer with plans to build a five-story commercial building, which might include a small hotel, on the corner of San Benito and Fourth streets is hoping to start construction as soon as the building moratorium is lifted.
The next step in the process, according to Tod DuBois – the San Juan Bautista-based developer who has exclusive rights to develop the site – is to gather public support for the project.
“The issue is: Is that really what the community wants?” he said. “The (city) council hasn’t engaged in asking the citizens exactly what they want.”
In September, 2004 the city granted DuBois an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, giving him exclusive rights to build on the long-vacant lot in front of the Briggs Building on Fourth Street, which is owned by the Hollister Redevelopment Agency. DuBois’ plan, which is based on the Cooper House in Santa Cruz, includes a 60,000 square-foot, four-story building with retail space on the bottom and residential or hotel space on the top floors. The plan also includes a a fifth-story tower for private offices.
Whether the building will have condominiums or a 39-room hotel is one of the decisions that DuBois said he wants the community to make.
DuBois said he plans on meeting with the City Council in the coming weeks to update them on the project. At that time, he said he will appeal to council members to hold public forums about the project to determine whether his plan is what locals want in that spot.
“I’m going to insist on it,” he said. “It’s the only way to get a project like this done.”
Councilman Doug Emerson said that he also thinks that the community should be involved in deciding what type of building goes up on Fourth and San Benito.
“We need to include the community so they feel they are part of what we do, so people start to feel connected to the projects we do,” he said.
The RDA has owned the property since the early 1990s, when it purchased the damaged and dilapidated buildings that once stood there. Some of the buildings were damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989.
At that time, the plan was to tear the buildings down and attract a developer to build on the corner lot. During the intervening years the site has gotten plenty of attention, but nothing that came to fruition.
In the early ’90s there were plans for a movie theater on the lot. But those plans were dropped after Premiere Cinemas announced it would build a theater and the city conducted a study that found that Hollister could not support two movie houses.
A few years later, a developer’s plans to build a 105-room hotel on the property faded. And later in the decade, plans for an arts center dissolved due to a lack of finances.
After years of waiting, many hope this new plan will be more successful.
Emerson said he is enthusiastic about the project because of its potential to draw more people into downtown.
“I’m really excited about that,” he said.
Hollister Downtown Association Executive Director Brenda Weatherly said her organization thinks the project is a good idea.
“It’s adding to the retail and businesses we already have in downtown,” she said.
Even with the moral support, however, DuBois still faces challenges in getting the project built. One of those is funding the $10 million building.
“The most difficult part of this building, and any building downtown, is when you’re doing a project of this size and magnitude it’s very expensive,” Development Services Director Bill Avera said.
DuBois acknowledged the financing challenge, but said that it is not insurmountable. One possibility, he said, is a contribution from the RDA. If the city won’t contribute, DuBois said he might have to downsize the project.
“If they want a building like the one I proposed, then it needs assistance,” he said. “There has to be a contribution from the RDA.”
Avera said he isn’t yet sure if the RDA will contribute to the project.
“Any assistance from the city has not been totally ironed out,” he said. “What ultimately has to happen is we need the support of the community, we need the support of the council.”
A second challenge DuBois faces is the building moratorium that was placed on the city in 2002 following a 15-million gallon sewage spill. But, he said, now that the city has set a December, 2007 date for a new sewage treatment facility, which will result in the lifting of the moratorium, he can spend the next two years planing the project so it’s ready to go.
“Now that a target end-date is set, we can back-schedule and say, ‘this needs to be done so we can break ground the day after the moratorium is lifted,” he said.
Luke Roney covers local politics and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at
lr****@fr***********.com
.
