A 119-acre, 1.5-million-square-foot center proposed between
Leavesley and Gilman roads
Mega Mall in Gilroy?
A 119-acre, 1.5-million-square-foot center proposed between Leavesley and Gilman roads
n By serdar tumgoren Staff Writer
Gilroy – One of America’s leading mall companies is working with Gilroy’s biggest developer on a mega-mall in east Gilroy.
The proposed shopping center at the center of talks between Westfield Corporation and Glen Loma Group, in Gilroy, involves plans for a 119-acre shopping center between Leavesley and Gilman roads. The project could involve cobbling together the former Wal-Mart building and school district offices – both off Arroyo Circle – and combining them with farmland immediately to the east, according to City Planning Manager Bill Faus.
A mix of stores, cafes, restaurants, movie theaters – even condominiums – have been mentioned as possible tenants in talks between city planners and Westfield representatives. The company began speaking with city planners about the project in December.
“This is not a commercial development like you have seen before,” Faus said. “In the industry they call them lifestyle centers – a commercial environment that is more than just commercial. It’s going to have an entertainment component. You could have movie theaters in there, ice skating rinks, a water slide. People go there not just for shopping but they’re going in for an entertainment experience.”
Westfield spokeswoman Katy Dickey declined to provide any details about the company’s plans or its financial arrangements with landowners, saying that the company is now in the “feasibility stage.”
“We can say that Westfield has a very strong presence in southern California and northern California,” she said. “We view the Gilroy demographic profile and Gilroy’s position within the greater market as an exciting opportunity for possible future investment. The potential is very appealing to Westfield as well as to several national retailers. We’re taking a very good look at making an investment.”
The company owns 60 shopping centers across the country, including the Westfield Oakridge in South San Jose and the Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara. Their combined roster of 600 stores includes Macy’s, Nordstrom, Sears and Target.
The mall proposed for Gilroy could rival the size of the city’s newest shopping centers off Pacheco Pass, which measure about 1.5 million square feet combined and include “anchor” tenants like Best Buy, Target, and the one-year-old Wal-Mart Supercenter.
But a project that promises to raise the bar on the shopping experience faces some major hurdles. Much of the land Westfield requires for the shopping center lies outside city limits in an area known as the 660, a vast swath of farmland and open space at the heart of one of the most contentious land battles in recent history.
To develop any portion of the land, the city would first have to get the seal of approval from officials at the Local Agency Formation Commission, a regional land-use agency with veto power over annexation requests.
The city has had a rocky relationship with the agency for the last five years, ever since local officials told LAFCO staff members they had no business meddling in the decision to target the 660 in Gilroy’s long-term development plans. The 2002 decision to include the land in Gilroy’s 20-year growth boundary sets the stage for future development of the 660, though the land remains outside city limits and cannot be incorporated without LAFCO permission.
“Most people involved in the land use business know that LAFCO holds the trump card,” Faus said. Even if the agency agrees to allow development, the city would have to change its General Plan to allow commercial development in areas now zoned for industrial use. Other parcels such as the old Wal-Mart site, a 125,000-square-foot building that has sat vacant for more than a year, poses fewer problems. Faus said Westfield is looking to craft a series of development plans that would allow portions of the shopping center to rise while the company and city navigate other land-use obstacles.
“We look forward to working with local and regional officials to determine if it’s appropriate to make an investment in the market,” Dickey said.
Mayor Al Pinheiro said it is too early to determine the potential benefits of such a project for the city. But he expected the project would only increase the city’s allure as a regional shopping hub.
“People will flock to areas where they can do their shopping and not have to travel all over the place,” Pinheiro said, adding that when it comes to new tax revenues, “obviously we could always use the money.”
While the Westfield plans are in the earliest stages, applications have already been submitted to City Hall for three smaller shopping centers elsewhere in Gilroy, each more than 100,000 square feet. Two of them lie east of Gilroy Crossing on the south side of Pacheco Pass, and a third retail center is slated for development just north of the Gilroy Premium Outlets.
