Despite maintaining the highest unemployment rate in the county,
Gilroy has become the destination for a few healthy employers
during the past few months.
Despite maintaining the highest unemployment rate in the county, Gilroy has become the destination for a few healthy employers during the past few months.
San Jose-based Silva Sausage and the Georgia-based medical linens cleaning company Angelica Corp. both have plans to set up shop in Gilroy during the next few months. In addition, the Morgan Hill-based rehabilitation equipment company North Coast Medical and San Jose-based Mi Pueblo Food Center plan to set up shop later this year.
That’s all good news for the local economy, said Richard Spitler, CEO of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation.
“I think we’re gaining back some of the jobs that we lost,” Spitler said.
Most companies that are moving to Gilroy these days are using older buildings rather than constructing new facilities, Spitler said. Usually, they are motivated to move here to cut costs, he said.
“Everyone’s questioning their business assumptions,” he said.
For instance, one of the things that a regional director for Angelica Corp. found attractive about the former West Coast Linen facility is that water and sewer entitlements already were in place, Spitler said.
West Coast Linen shut down its 100,000-square foot facility at 8190 Murray Ave. in November 2008 after parent company Lohrey Enterprises filed for bankruptcy in October of that year.
Angelica, which delivers textile and rental products and linens to healthcare professionals and patients, plans to reopen that facility next month, said John Partridge, Angelica’s vice president of business development.
The company has repainted the building and replaced the roof, he said. In addition, it has identified some candidates for management positions.
“We actually have made some significant progress,” Partridge said.
The facility will start with 50 employees and “ramp up over time,” Partridge said. Spitler said company officials have said they eventually would like to have 150 employees working there.
Similarly, San Jose-based Mi Pueblo Food Center hopes to hire about 150 people when it opens in the former Grocery Outlet building at First Street and Wayland Lane this fall, according to Perla Rodriguez, vice president of public affairs for the Latino grocery store chain. Mi Pueblo hopes to open by October, with a store, taqueria, deli and bakery all within the same building, Rodriguez said.
The company looks to build in communities that have a need for full-service grocery stores and “a critical mass of Hispanic people,” she said.
If past trends hold true, she expected that the store would receive thousands of applications.
“I’d Imagine this summer we’ll get tons of calls,” she said.
The store replaces Grocery Outlet, which shut down in April, displacing 23 workers. However, the store’s owners are looking to reopen in the former Western Appliance building at 333 E. 10th St., Spitler said.
Another food-related business, San Jose-based Silva Sausage, plans to move its processing plant to a 52,000 square-foot building along Rossi Lane in southeast Gilroy. Company President Fernando Martins could not be reached for comment Thursday. However, he said last year that he intends to bring about 45 current employees to the new facility and to hire about five people locally. A woman who answered the phone this week said the company hopes to move to Gilroy sometime in August.
Silva Sausage is moving to Gilroy because it outgrew its San Jose facility and because of the lower property costs in Gilroy, Martins said last year.
Meanwhile, North Coast Medical will likely have about 80 employees when it moves to Gilroy sometime this year, Spitler said. However, the company is actually moving into a smaller space near Applebee’s in eastern Gilroy than it occupies in Morgan Hill and it must lay off some part-time staff in the process, said Marlene Serrato, human resources manager for North Coast Medical. As a result, the company is not looking at making new hires at this time, she said.
Despite future gains, Gilroy maintains the highest unemployment rate in the county, hovering at 16.9 percent in April compared to 11.4 percent countywide. Spitler said he still notices companies shutting down here and there.
Just within the past few months, Gilroy Honda announced that it was moving to Morgan Hill, and Giacalone Electric Services announced plans to shut down and lay off its staff in July.
Still, Spitler said he is happy to see companies moving into some of Gilroy’s vacant buildings, filling in the gap where jobs have been lost.
“I think that’s a solid trend in my mind,” Spitler said.
