The Hollister City Council approved changes to the 400 block development and disposition agreement related to parking at its Feb. 4 regular meeting. The agreement is between Del Curto Brothers Construction Inc., the Community Foundation for San Benito County and the city of Hollister.
Councilman Rolan Resendiz pulled the agreement from the consent agenda because he wanted clarification on the meaning of “Del Curto shall submit applications for no cost assignable licenses that will be issued by the city for use of the parking structure for the condominiums.”
He asked city program manager Mary Paxton if “no cost” meant that the developer was not going to pay for parking. Paxton responded that based on the language of the agreement, Del Curto would not pay and suggested removing “for no cost” from the text, to which the council agreed.
The council voted 3-1 on the agreement, with Resendiz voting no. Mayor Ignacio Velazquez recused himself from the vote, as he is the owner of the neighboring Vault building.
Paxton said the biggest change to the agreement (the council also approved an agreement in 2017) was that the Community Foundation will not be required to obtain 20 non-transferrable reserved parking permits in the Briggs Building next to the property.
When development on the 400 block is completed at the corner of San Benito and Fourth streets, it will include a new headquarters for the Community Foundation and local nonprofits, along with a mixed-use building combining commercial retail on the first floor and residential condo units on the second and third floors.
Paxton said that contrary to local news reports, the city has not sold the property yet.
The 400 block property will be sold in two phases when the Community Foundation and Del Curto apply for their building permits, Paxton said. She expects the Community Foundation to do this sometime in March and the Del Curtos sometime thereafter.
According to the Feb. 4 meeting agenda packet, both organizations have 270 days from June 20, 2018 to do so.
Following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the city purchased several damaged properties on the 400 block through the former Hollister Redevelopment Agency (RDA). When the state dissolved RDAs in early 2012, the city was required to sell off all RDA properties, including the 400 block.
Paxton said the sale price of $390,00 is based on a 2015 appraisal of the property. The city appraised the property in 2016 at $690,000.
The second appraisal has no effect on the previously agreed terms with the Del Curtos and the Community Foundation, Paxton said, because the city did not include a clause to renegotiate the sale if the property increased in appraised value.
Other related BenitoLink articles on the 400 Block:
Parking license agreement hits speed bump
Designs approved for 400 block buildings
Hollister City Council Repeals 400 Block Referendum
Attorney General decision goes against petition to stop sale of 400 block
Hollister City Council approves proposal to develop 400 Block
Hollister City Council agrees to 400 Block development