Gilroy Chamber of Commerce will pay $360,000 to take over Garlic
Fest Association offices
Gilroy – The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce will pay $360,000 to take over the offices of its long-time neighbor, the Garlic Festival Association.
Since 1991, the local business group and nonprofit festival organizer have shared a building in the heart of downtown at 7471 Monterey St. The festival association plans to sell its half of the office space, 3,300 square feet, to help finance a new office and residential building a few blocks north, at the corner of Monterey and Lewis streets.
“A purchase agreement was signed last June and the agreement is that we will stay in the offices until our new building is ready,” said Micki Pirozzoli, the 2006 festival president. “It works out great because they wanted more space and we were going to move.”
Chamber Executive Director Susan Valenta said the business group has formed a task force to research possible uses for the site and their financial impact on the chamber, largely financed by contributions from more than 700 members.
While stressing that no decisions have been made, Valenta said the task force could look into housing the Gilroy Visitor’s Bureau in the other half of the building, using it for additional meeting space, or knocking it down to create a public gallery or garden.
“It isn’t just a matter of coming up with a use, but looking at the financial ramifications,” Valenta said. “As far as a timeline, nobody’s under the gun. Our first priority is to make sure that the Garlic Festival has a smooth transition.”
The festival group hopes to begin construction on its new building at 7610 Monterey St. by August. The GFA obtained the site by offering the city a parking lot off Eigleberry Street, behind its current office. City officials plan to eventually build a downtown parking garage on a portion of the lot, which chamber employees currently use for parking.
Valenta said the chamber has no plans to restrict the hours of operation of the paseo that connects the lot to Monterey Street. Downtown businesses are expected to rely on that lot in coming months as major street and sidewalk renovations eliminate 83 parking spaces along two blocks of Monterey Street.
Valenta said the chamber’s plans for the building would reflect the goals spelled out in the recently approved Downtown Specific Plan. That document calls for the creation of public spaces and mixed-use buildings with both retail and residential space.
“The nice thing,” she said, “is we’re all working toward the same goal of having a vibrant downtown.”
