Before You Begin
We previously reported on a new shopping center proposed at San Felipe and Highway 25. Since then, Hollister has approved and will consider additional properties to be used as commercial sites, some with confirmed and prospective tenants.
4th and Rejkovich
Starting off on the west side of Hollister. A new shopping center was approved by the Hollister Planning Commission on September 24th. The shopping center will feature a Quick Quack carwash and a McDonald’s quick-service restaurant.
The location will be Quick Quack’s second location in Hollister and McDonald’s third. The McDonald’s restaurant will have the ability to operate 24/7, but as of the planning commission meeting, it has not determined operating hours.
Public records requests via the City of Hollister’s online portal, also suggest that Quick Quack is exploring another location in the city at the aforementioned proposed San Felipe and Highway 25 shopping center.
The applicant mentioned hoping to hit the ground running with construction within the next year.
San Felipe and Maple Street
In another change for the vacant lot at San Felipe Road and Maple St, a new shopping center is proposed that looks to attract retail, quick-service restaurants, and already has an interested tenant.
The site was previously included in Hollister’s Housing Element inventory to help the city meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). However, at a special meeting on August 21, the Hollister City Council voted unanimously (5-0) to approve a General Plan amendment redesignating the property for commercial use.
Because the site was counted toward the city’s housing capacity, Hollister must demonstrate that it can still meet its RHNA obligations without it. City planning staff said they believe the remaining sites identified in the Housing Element provide enough capacity to do so.
The property is advertised as including several pad sites that could accommodate at least 6 different commercial buildings.
Notably, 7Brew is now associated with the property and an interested tenant, according to the staff report. 7Brew is a Midwest-based drive-thru coffee house that is known for its customizable beverages, offering over 1000 different combinations. The company has been on a westward expansion, recently announcing a Salinas location with several other California spots in the works.
As the General Plan amendment was just approved, the applicant and this shopping center still have several steps prior to construction with this approval being arguably the biggest hurdle.
Highway 25 and Fairview Road
A surprising addition to the mix is what was referred to during Wednesday’s meeting as the “pizza slice property,” a nod to its unusual shape, at Fairview Road and Highway 25.
At the same meeting where the 7Brew shopping center was considered, the Hollister City Council approved a General Plan amendment to prezone the property for commercial use. The approval comes with an important condition: the applicant is responsible for pursuing the annexation of the Cielo Vista neighborhood into Hollister, creating a contiguous city boundary that would allow the property to receive city services.
Cielo Vista is already connected to Hollister’s wastewater system following problems with the neighborhood’s aging wastewater treatment facility. In 2023, Hollister approved an agreement with Sunnyslope County Water District to provide wastewater treatment services for Cielo Vista, Gavilan College, Fairview Corners and Lands of Lee. As part of the arrangement, the properties receiving service were required to agree not to contest a future annexation.
Cielo Vista is already within Hollister’s sphere of influence, although formally annexing the neighborhood into the city would require approval from the San Benito County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).
No tenants or formal site plans were presented for the pizza slice property. However, the property owners said at Wednesday’s meeting that they have considered a gas station or convenience store for the site to attract east side and south county residents as well as Gavilan students. They also indicated they are flexible and willing to work with the city on other potential commercial uses.
One point was clear from the discussion and from the property’s unusual configuration: the site is not considered well suited for additional housing.
During the discussion, outgoing District 2 councilmember Rolan Resendiz raised concerns that annexing Cielo Vista could provide a pathway for Ridgemark to eventually seek annexation into Hollister and connect to the city’s sewer system.
However, the current circumstances do not appear to support that scenario. Ridgemark is not part of the proposal before the city and already receives wastewater service through Sunnyslope County Water District, which operates the Ridgemark wastewater system. Ridgemark is also outside the City of Hollister’s existing sphere of influence.
No proposal to annex Ridgemark or connect the community to Hollister’s wastewater system was presented as part of Wednesday’s action, nor are there any publicly available documents that suggest this is the case.
Ultimately, the city council voted 4-1, with Resendiz as the sole no vote, to move forward with the General Plan amendment.
These additions to Hollister bode well for the city as it continues to struggle financially. More commercial sites mean more opportunities for the city to collect sales/property tax revenue while providing more jobs for residents.
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