A Honda PowerHouse store will bring jobs and tax revenue to the
city, officials say
Hollister – The Hollister Planning Commission will vote this week on whether to approve the remodel design that will turn the dilapidated building that once housed Good Times Bowl into a Honda PowerHouse dealership, which some say will set the standard for future development of the city’s north gateway.
“The transformation is going to be pretty awesome,” said local architect David Huboi who is doing the remodel. “It’s going to be really cool. I’m excited about it.”
Last year, Dave Galtman and Marty and Mike Greenwood – who bought the bowling alley on San Felipe Road in 2004 – started talking to the Honda Corporation about starting a PowerHouse dealership in Hollister. PowerHouses, which are few and far between in California, have service centers and sell virtually everything Honda makes – such as motorcycles and jet skis – except automobiles. In November the Hollister Redevelopment Agency board agreed to loan Galtman and the Greenwoods up to $1.5 million toward remodeling the former bowling alley to meet Honda’s design requirements. With the RDA’s commitment to the project, Honda was satisfied and the project is moving forward.
On Thursday, the planning commission will review the PowerHouse designed decide whether it is right for Hollister’s north gateway. Huboi, who is also a city planning commissioner, said that he will abstain from the PowerHouse vote.
The design, which Huboi and Honda have been working on for months, includes a comprehensive external and internal remodel of the former bowling alley. The inside of the run-down building will have a motorcycle and jet ski showroom, as well as office and employee areas. The exterior will be outfitted with new windows and landscaping. The building, which is now green, will also get a new gray, red and black color scheme.
“Now we have a huge property with a huge blighted building. This is the opportunity to try to alleviate some physical blight,” said Development Services Director Bill Avera. “It will probably be used as a model.”
Though he hasn’t yet seen the designs for the PowerHouse, Planning Commissioner Charles Scott said he thinks that the dealership will be good for the city. When it comes time to vote on whether to approve the plans, Scott said he would make a decision based on is the design fits the character of what the city wants the north gateway to look like.
Galtman said that he is eager to get the remodel – which he said will cost about $1.75 million – started and hopes to have the PowerHouse open by fall or early-winter 2006. Huboi also said that he is ready to get started with the remodel. While the RDA will loan up to $1.5 million – Avera said an exact loan amount hasn’t been determined – the remainder of the remodel cost will be covered by a bank loan, Galtman said.
Many in Hollister are excited about a Honda PowerHouse dealership, which will create more than 20 jobs, coming to town.
Councilman Doug Emerson said that the PowerHouse will be an economic benefit for the city, which has an ongoing $3 million budget deficit, because it will create jobs and bring more tax revenue in to city coffers.
“It’s not going to solve the whole $3 million problem, but it’s certainly going to generate sales tax revenue,” he said, adding that the redesigned building will give visitors a good impression of Hollister.
Also, Emerson said, a PowerHouse dealership in Hollister – which will be one of just two in the state – will draw people to the city.
“It’s not like a store that can be duplicated in Gilroy or San Jose,” he said. “It’s going to bring people to Hollister.”
Galtman agreed, saying that PowerHouses, because they are rare, typically draw people from a 200 mile radius.
