GILROY
– An old Victorian house sells English tea and hundred-dollar
artwork. A once-vacant brick eyesore may be the next spot to buy
pastries and ice cream. A string of buildings many locals once
could not be paid to walk in front of at night has gotten a fresh
coat of paint and may soon be an outdoor d
ining spot.
GILROY – An old Victorian house sells English tea and hundred-dollar artwork. A once-vacant brick eyesore may be the next spot to buy pastries and ice cream. A string of buildings many locals once could not be paid to walk in front of at night has gotten a fresh coat of paint and may soon be an outdoor dining spot.
These are just some of the recent changes in downtown that activists and city leaders believe are signs Monterey Street in Gilroy is being pulled out of its decade-long morass. The changes, some say, are flying under the radar of public perception because focus is put on high-profile projects such as an arts and cultural center, a railroad museum and a housing/retail development at the old cannery that have yet – and in some cases struggle – to come on line.
“I’m seeing a lot of improvements that I don’t think people notice when they’re not here day in, day out,” said Gary Walton, a downtown property owner who serves on the city’s downtown revitalization task force. “Wonderful things are happening all over the downtown.”
Walton, who already is building a retail and housing project next door to Old City Hall and owns four downtown properties, is putting his money where his mouth is. Just last month he purchased the old Bank of America building on Monterey and Fourth streets. Walton bought it from Indian Motorcycle which, before it shut down its business, was planning to use the building as a motorbike showroom.
Find pastries and ice cream
Walton, who has built a reputation for developing aesthetically friendly structures downtown, says he wants to make the red-brick split-level building a place to come for pastries or ice cream.
Walton wants to lease to about three or four businesses, and he wants the businesses to be something along the lines of pastry shops, ice cream parlors or cafes. He imagines a downtown that people walk to after dinner and on the weekends.
“Downtown needs to be a place where people want to walk to,” Walton said. “It’s great to have antique stores and boutiques but people need a reason to go downtown first and then do some other shopping.”
Walton’s enthusiasm for downtown revitalization is being matched by business and property owners all around Monterey Street.
Changes at Little Baja
Across from the train station, in the area known to some as “Little Baja,” several business owners are throwing their hat into the revitalization ring.
The Garcia family is refurbishing inside and out their family-style Mexican restaurant which they shut down in 1995.
According to Daniel Garcia, the son of Herman and Mary Garcia who opened the first version of the restaurant in 1950, $100,000 has already been spent in repairing the building’s roof, and plans for the restaurant are nearly ready for submittal to the city.
Garcia said the restaurant will feature patio dining in the rear and the currently unpaved parking lot adjacent to the building will get paved, landscaped and serve as a side entrance to the restaurant.
“We are trying to live out our parents’ dream,” Garcia said. “My mom was one of the first people to revitalize downtown all the way back in 1972. This is nothing new to our family, now is just the right time.”
Garcia’s property neighbors other buildings that have gone through dramatic turnarounds in recent months.
For instance, the Cherry Blossom apartment building, which features retail businesses on the first floor, has a new facade. Owner John Tomasello said he had five of his seven apartments rented out for many months. He may have still had them rented out but recently one of his tenants passed away and another had to move out after being in a serious accident.
“Overall, I think downtown is heading in the right direction,” said Tomasello, a resident of Gilroy since 1949.
Perhaps better than anywhere in downtown, a positive direction can be seen on Fifth Street west of Monterey Street.
A newly developed Walton building sits at the corner of Eigleberry Street with a top-notch hairstyling studio in the corner office. Across from there is a reputable guitar store in a spruced up one-story and quaint brick building. Next to that is a refurbished and repainted Victorian-style home that on the bottom floor houses a health and beauty shop and a boutique with local artwork, jewelry, books and teas.
Even the one Fifth Street spot, Station 55, that has consistently struggled to keep businesses afloat despite its eye-catching patio and refurbished look, is coming back to life. The most recent owners decided to leave Gilroy when their restaurant met with little success, but Bill Lindsteadt of the Economic Development Corporation said another restaurateur is ready to move in. Lindsteadt would not give details, but confirmed that it would be another eatery.
Streetscape sparked improvements
Theories vary on how downtown is turning itself around despite this stunted economy. For Lindsteadt, the Monterey streetscape project is a key factor. He says when business owners see the city doing its part to make downtown thrive, then there is more incentive for them to get into the mix, too.
“The one follows the other, it’s that simple,” Lindsteadt said.
The streetscape project currently ends at Sixth Street in front of downtown’s landmark Old City Hall. The last City Council wanted to extend the improvement effort another three blocks, but it will be up to the new Council to find the money to do that.
“If they do the streetscape for even two more blocks and then some half blocks (side streets off of Monterey) I would be ecstatic,” Lindsteadt said.
Downtown Gilroy at Fifth and Monterey took a blow several months ago when the Garlic Festival Store announced it was closing its business and selling its building. When it was learned that the building would be sold to a local healthcare clinic, many downtown leaders balked at the idea and unsuccessfully bid City Council to not allow the building to be used for a non-retail purpose.
Even the compromise deal by the city – which calls for roughly 1,000 square feet on the first floor to be used for a retail purpose – wasn’t good enough for Charles Coachman of Coachman Antiques.
Coachman moved his business to Morgan Hill and lambasted Councilmen Peter Arellano and Charles Morales for siding with the healthcare clinic. However, the corner store that housed Coachman Antiques is already filled by another business – a scrap booking service called Got Memories? whichmoved from its First Street location.
