Gilroy
– A piece of Gilroy’s history tumbled to the ground Friday,
paving the way for the largest planned mixed-use development in the
city.
Work began early in the morning at Fourth and Lewis streets to
demolish what used to be the corporate office of a now-decrepit
cannery.
Gilroy – A piece of Gilroy’s history tumbled to the ground Friday, paving the way for the largest planned mixed-use development in the city.
Work began early in the morning at Fourth and Lewis streets to demolish what used to be the corporate office of a now-decrepit cannery.
In a few years, the site will be home to a 40,000-square-foot development with commercial offices, a linear urban park, expansion space for Rebekah Children’s Services and approximately 200 homes, which will include detached single-family units, townhouse-style units and urban lofts.
The project is being developed by South County Housing, a non-profit public benefit corporation that provides housing for a variety of income levels and types of families.
Friday’s demolition covered about 8,000 square feet of the total 100,000 square feet of various buildings on the site, said project manager Nancy Wright.
The rest of the buildings, which Wright said are more sound and in better shape, will come down in about a year.
“(The old corporate office) was a building the city was very concerned about because of safety issues,” she said. “We had agreed with the city that we’d take down that building first.”
South County Housing closed escrow on seven acres of the 12-acre property Dec. 30 and recently submitted to the city an application for a tentative map and zoning, which are under review.
The city then will hire an environmental consultant to evaluate the proposal, and the plan then will go before the city’s planning commission and city council for approval.
Tentatively, construction would begin in summer of 2007, Wright said.
According to South County Housing’s Web site, the entire development process is expected to take about four years to complete, including planning, design, demolition and construction.
Currently, it is expected all of the homes will be for ownership rather than for rental.
The majority will be targeted to households between 60 and 120 percent of area median income, which is $105,000 for a family of four.
The commercial space will include a small amount of retail space to serve the development’s residents as well as businesses that do not compete with businesses already in the historic downtown area.
South County Housing, with about 80 employees, also will occupy some of the offices.
To see a project summary and a full-color, 50-page report on project details, visit South County’s Web site at www.scounty.com.
