GILROY
– The city is sending out more than 200 building supply
directories to Gilroy contractors starting this week. Officials
hope the information makes it easier for contractors to buy
materials locally when building homes and businesses here.
GILROY – The city is sending out more than 200 building supply directories to Gilroy contractors starting this week. Officials hope the information makes it easier for contractors to buy materials locally when building homes and businesses here.
The inch-thick directory includes contact information for building material suppliers, city planners and engineers, police and fire officials, utility agencies, and contractors. The directory also has a matrix of 30 Gilroy companies showing the types of building materials they supply.
National companies with Gilroy chains such as The Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement to local stores such as Bedolla Tile and Heartwood Cabinets are listed in the directory.
“I think that’s great. Keep it local. Hopefully it shows you don’t have to go out of town to get your supplies,” said Allen White, manager of Hydro Turf, a Monterey Street company which specializes in electrical, lumber and plumbing supplies.
White, who has managed Hydro Turf for more than a year, said the company likely loses business to out of town suppliers even though work is done here in Gilroy.
“People come in here a lot and say, ‘I didn’t know you were here,’ ” White said.
Bill Lindsteadt, the executive director of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation, says that’s precisely why his agency spent the last five months producing the directories.
“We’re trying to promote sales of building materials here in Gilroy,” said Lindsteadt. “It’s really that simple.”
San Jose-based PMZ3 Research helped Lindsteadt compile and organize the data.
Lindsteadt said the EDC is still weeks away from publishing the directory online, but already copies have been placed on planning and building counters at City Hall.
The directory has a lot of potential for expanding local business opportunity. For the past few years Gilroy has been in a construction boom with new housing in the northwest quad and the big box retail stores at Highway 152 and U.S. 101.
Roughly 3,500 housing permits have been issued for the next 10 years.
“With all this construction we want to do our part to make sure people are buying their materials here,” Lindsteadt said.
