A shuttered downtown taco stand and two neighboring homes will
be razed in coming weeks to make room for the Gilroy Cultural Arts
and Performing Center, according to city officials.
Gilroy – A shuttered downtown taco stand and two neighboring homes will be razed in coming weeks to make room for the Gilroy Cultural Arts and Performing Center, according to city officials.
The properties located at the corner of Seventh and Monterey streets have sat vacant for months surrounded by chainlink fence, as the city moves forward on legal efforts to secure additional land for the center.
“Things may not be moving as fast as some would like them to move, but we’re moving,” said Bill Headley, the city’s parks and facilities manager.
The structures should come down within 60 days, assuming council approves the demolition at a Monday meeting, Headley said.
The properties obtained under threat of government seizure, or eminent domain, comprise a third of the land needed for the project that officials call a cornerstone of downtown renewal. Officials purchased two other properties to the north in the last 18 months and are now in the process of securing possession of the final piece of land. While a court case surrounding the final acquisition could drag on into fall, the bigger issue facing the center could be skyrocketing construction costs and council efforts to rustle up $12.4 million to buy a west Gilroy theme park.
The nonprofit board of directors at Gilroy Gardens offered to sell the park to the city in February. The offer has been hailed as a steal by city officials, while some question the city’s ability to pay for the park in light of other priorities and budget shortfalls for the next few years. Officials have sought to tamp down on concerns that the Gilroy Gardens purchase may undercut efforts to repair alleys and sidewalks or build the arts center.
“I think it’s premature for us to put the two together,” said Mayor Al Pinheiro. “I don’t want to even put the two on the same page.”
City Administrator Jay Baksa has pointed to the $10 million earmarked in the budget for the arts center as a possible source of funding for Gilroy Gardens, but officials are searching for creative alternatives to finance the purchase. If officials are forced to dip into the arts center money, the project could be delayed for several years. It was originally slated to open in 2010.
“I would certainly hope that it shouldn’t have to be a choice of one or the other,” said Sherri Stuart, who has helped organize a fund-raising campaign to support the art center’s future operations. The campaign has attracted pledges of more than $1.8 million , or roughly 60 percent of the $3 million goal. In addition to the fund-raising campaign, supporters are pushing forward with big plans for an arts alliance to sustain the center with a healthy schedule of events.
Stuart has worked on the arts center project for nearly eight years. She is less worried about the impact of the Gilroy Gardens purchase than spiraling construction costs and the slowdown in the housing market. The city relies heavily on development-related fees to finance new facilities, and a stall in housing starts means fewer dollars flowing in to replenish those pools of money.
The initial $10 million project estimate is also likely to increase substantially. The city has already spent $3.9 million to acquire the land it needs for the arts center – far more than the original estimate of $900,000.
In total, the arts center plans call for the purchase of 14 separate lots measuring 2.33 acres. The list of purchases include a boarded-up Chinese restaurant and the Salvation Army store on Monterey Street, just north of the taqueria. Most recently, officials paid $1.8 million to a court as part of the eminent domain process involving the final parcel – 1.17 acres along Eigleberry and Seventh streets. The Gera family has agreed to sell the land but is objecting to the price offered by City Hall, setting the stage for a court battle that could last into the fall.
In addition to the prospect of additional land costs, a redesign of the arts center itself could lead to higher costs. City officials have mentioned the possibility of replacing a portion of the gardens or parking lot in the original design with revenue-generating storefronts and above-ground parking. Downtown renewal efforts are rooted in such mixed-used concepts and could ultimately mean a more elaborate project.
Such ideas could be considered as part of a new round of planning for the facility.
“You never want to proceed with a public building process that’s been sitting on the shelf for any period of time,” Headley said. “You want to make sure the public resources are used in the most ideal manner.”
For the moment, however, officials are focusing on removing vacant buildings from the heart of downtown. In the current designs, the arts center is slated to rise on the same pieces of land where the demolitions will occur in coming weeks.
“We need to clean that whole area,” he said. “It’s a shame that it’s allowed to be there still.”
