Council enters into agreement to determine feasibility of 80-acre development project

The catch is that the developer, Bill Stone, of S Squared Development, based in Poway, in Southern California, will purchase the property if he’s able to line up tenants and overcome a series of hurdles that include replacing fill dirt, providing improved access to the site, doing something about a ditch that crosses the property, and building a frontage road.

Lemoore City Council Aug. 16 Agenda

The infrastructure cost alone nears the $10 million mark. The cost of the property is listed at about $4.3 million.

When all was said and done, Councilmembers Ray Madrigal, Billy Siegel and Mayor Lois Wynne voted for the agreement, while Jeff Chedester and Eddie Neal voted against it.

Stone was initially approached by the city’s economic development team CrisCom, which at the same Tuesday night meeting, received a one-year extension to its $42,000 annual cost of providing economic development efforts for the city. City leaders, in 2014, approved an agreement with CrisCom for business development and attraction.

In his dealings with the city, Stone asked for an option agreement so that he can market the property to prospective tenants. During the 12-month option period the city must keep the property in an “as-is” condition. Additionally, S Squared can take a closer look at the property, which includes evaluating the feasibility of attracting tenants and development costs.

At the end of the 12-month period, he can simply walk away from the project, but he will reimburse the city $10,000 for its costs in maintaining the year-long agreement.

Lemoore’s Development Services Director Judy Holwell, made the pitch for S Squared developer. “The city has worked with CrisCom and with brokers all over – in Southern California as well,” she said. “One of the meetings we had was with Bill Stone.”

The agreement allows Stone to take a hard look at the property “to make sure it’s going to be financially feasible,” said Holwell. “He’ll decide whether the option is feasible or not. If it’s not feasible he’s going to pay back the city for legal time and services up to $10,000.”

If the project goes forward Holwell said there will be a $10 million price tag for improvements. “Access from State Route 41 is critical for this project to work,” she said, adding that Cal Trans might be interested in creating a “round-a-bout” to improve access.

The primary purpose in considering the project is increased tax revenue. “The pros of this project is the generation of retail sales tax revenue,” said Holwell. “This is also an opportunity to get a retail site in here.”

While Stone didn’t categorically say exactly what his project would include, he suggested such things as bowling alleys, entertainment areas, restaurants – sort of a mixed-used venue.  “There’s been a paradigm shift in the way shopping centers are being done,” said Stone who appeared before councilmembers Tuesday night. “People’s wants and needs are a lot different. Over the years I started out building malls, and the last 10 years I’ve been in mixed use entertainment and retail.”

 But it was hard to nail down a specific idea or project. “If I knew exactly what I was going to do today, I’d tell you. If we can bring something new and exciting, I think it would be good for the city.”

When asked by Councilmember Ray Madrigal to explain what attracted him to Lemoore, Stone said there were many factors. “There are two big factors for us,” he said. “Location, the type of site, and what you can do with it. With an access or roundabout, it will provide access. Without access or a roundabout, it’s not worth it.”

He also said nearby Naval Air Station Lemoore, with its thousands of residents also played a role in his eventual decision to take a closer look at Lemoore.

However, not everyone was pleased with the agreement. Craig Pederson, a Kings County Supervisor, and a member of the family that has attempted to develop property west of Highway 41, said that there is a long history of unwritten agreements with the city to pursue the development of much of that property.

Pederson’s family donated the property on which West Hills College Lemoore now sits.

“We’re talking about the general plan, which the citizens of Lemoore identified,” said Pederson in attempting to explain the work that went into preparing his property for development. “We went through months of planning, a moratorium. And citizens said this is where we want to grow.” If S Squared is built, his property will sit vacant for another 10 years. The demographics won’t support another shopping center.”

Pederson said he and his family had an unwritten agreement with city officials when his family donated the property for West Hills College. “There was a commitment made. The community made a commitment… to build a college. It’s important to remember the past commitments… with respect to things like the general plan.”

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