The Hollister City Council on Monday agreed to accept proposal ideas for two parcels at the long-vacant corner of Fourth and San Benito streets, commonly referred to as the 400 Block. Officials are calling it a potential “catalyst project” that could spur other economic development downtown.
Two developers interested in the 400 Block recently approached the city, which prompted the action. A request for proposal will be issued calling for “at least a two-store building” at the site, which for years has been a grassy lot used by nonprofit groups for activities. The now-dissolved Hollister Redevelopment Agency purchased the site after five buildings there were “catastrophically damaged” by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which damaged or destroyed other unreinforced masonry buildings downtown. The RDA constructed the Briggs Building parking structure on part of the site, with Gavilan College as the ground-floor tenant.
Darin Del Curto of Del Curto Brothers Construction Inc. told the council during the public comment portion of the agenda item that he is one of the developers who has approached the city about developing the corner. “We’ve done some similar projects,” he said, referring to an 8,000-square-foot condominium project at Seventh and East streets behind the Veterans’ Memorial Building and a planned 16,000-square-foot project at the former site of Ridgemark Realty on San Benito Street.
Del Curto said he has a “three-story plan for that (400) block” and would “just like to submit a proposal.”
Mary Paxton, program manager for the city’s Development Services Department — the successor agency to the RDA — said development of the 400 Block has been stalled various times: by a sewer moratorium, the recession and the abolishment of the RDA. “This has been a long way in the works,” she said.
The property was valued at $220,000 in 2013, though city staff said Monday that the current value is $390,000 — a figure Councilman Raymond Friend called “a joke.” He said, “there’s no way the most important corner in downtown is worth $390,000.” He noted that people interested in purchasing the property should value it at “a million dollars or it’s not gonna go. The value is much more than our estimate here.”
The council expressed reservations about the proposed project schedule, which calls for proposals to be due by Nov. 24, a developer selected by Dec. 2 and the transfer of property before the end of the calendar year.
Councilman Karson Klauer, who said there is a “great possibility to get apartment units in there” in a mixed-use project, called the timeframe “kinda quick.”Â
Friend said that since the city is “gonna live with this a long time — we’ve lived with the parking garage that nobody uses for a long time,” he doesn’t want the city to rush into a decision on selecting a project for the site.
City Manager William Avera and Paxton assured the council that the timeline could be extended and that the council will have the final say on any development there. Avera added that the city could also place some restrictions in any sale agreement allowing the city to continue to have control over the 400 Block’s grassy area so nonprofits can continue to use it for free until any construction were to begin.
The council voted 4-0 to put out a request for proposal. Mayor Ignacio Velazquez abstained from the discussion and vote because he owns the adjacent Vault building.
In other action, the council approved putting out a call for bids for new signage and striping of San Benito Street through downtown — part of the city’s plan to reduce the amount of lanes from four to two and to add mid-block crosswalks to encourage more people to visit the historic business districtÂ