Realtors in San Benito County have mixed feelings about DMB’s withdrawal of the 6,800-unit El Rancho San Benito proposal.
Intero Real Estate Broker Marilyn Ferreira said she is “devastated, saddened and upset.”
“I feel this is a real blow to our community and I hope they’ll reconsider this at a later date.”
On the other side of the coin, Ken Bettencourt, owner of Ridgemark Realty, said although the project wasn’t bad, the location was the problem.
“The location wasn’t the right place,” he said. “It would be right for the homeowner because it would cater to the shopping in Santa Clara County.”
DMB on Thursday informed county officials of its plans to withdraw the project application, while the company plans to maintain ownership of property at the site and still expects to have some corporate presence here.
Ferreira believes it will affect an already depressed downtown and she noted how the company was active in the nonprofit sector.
“Their contributions to many nonprofits, they gave a tremendous amount of money and support,” she said. “(They were) so involved in trying to make the community better. They were a driving force when nonprofits needed help.”
Intero Real Estate Agent Ray Pierce, however, said he saw the project as both good and bad. He thinks there was a “distinct possibility” it would have drawn business away from downtown.
“There was a lot of money that was going to go to the county coffers,” said Pierce, also a city planning commissioner. “They are going to be suffering for that and budgetary things. That could be a downside.”
Pierce said he is not “your typical Realtor,” adding that he thinks more about impacts and the size of projects, not necessarily what he can sell.
“I was concerned about the impact it would have on Hollister – if it was going to draw commercial business away from downtown,” Pierce said. “I thought there was a distinct possibility that it could deter that.”
For an expanded version of this story, see Tuesday’s edition of the Free Lance.
