Nov 25 2009

Reinventing Retail Strip Centers

By Richard Deaver

Urban Dynamics Skyline logoLet’s face it; there is a lot of uncertainty in our economy right now. Unprecedented layoffs, business closures, foreclosures and both personal and business bankruptcies have made everyone fearful of what the future holds.

But this is not news to anyone.

Commercial real estate has not been left unscathed by all the economic carnage – especially retail. On a national level, retailers closed an estimated 6,000 stores in 2008 alone with more than double that amount anticipated by the end of 2009. Locally, we’ve seen a number of storefronts go dark, both large and small. Gottschalk’s closure had the potential to severely exacerbate the situation, but since they had premium locations, there was plenty of demand to minimize the impact of adding to the vacant inventory.

The blow from jobs lost by the closure of Gottschalks was also lessened when Macy’s hired a number of former employees for the River Park store and Forever 21 should be adding soon to that number at the Fashion Fair location, but those who have not found jobs potentially can increase the number of new foreclosures and personal bankruptcies still to come. This will only add to the drop in retail sales forcing more local businesses to close, thereby causing vacancy rates to climb continuing a vicious cycle.

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Aug 25 2009

DOWNTOWN FRESNO: Revitalizing the Urban Core

By Richard Deaver

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Rowell Building - Fresno

Cities both large and small are reevaluating how they manage growth to not only preserve natural resources, but also keep their downtowns alive. Many have already been successful in bringing about change in the way they plan for inevitable growth and bringing residents and retail stores back to their downtowns and others are still in the planning or implementation stages.

Fresno has been looking at this problem for a number of years and has tried more than once to alter the way we continue to grow away from the urban core. As Fresno’s population increases, so does the need for affordable housing as developers continue to expand the city’s boundaries to keep up with demand – some say at the cost of valuable agricultural land. A recent Wall Street Journal article (August 15, 2009) provides information on a troubling trend that underscores this problem, which states; “Of new housing today, 80% is built in suburbs – the direct legacy of federal policy that favored outlying areas rather than the rehabilitation of city centers”.

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May 25 2009

GRANITE PARK GET’S PHYSICAL

25 MAY 2009

GRANITE PARK GET’S PHYSICAL

Noted sports medicine & physical therapy provider Jason Gray is set to occupy newest building at Granite Park with his practice: PHYSIOMOTION.  TYCO General is currently working on permits and finishes and plans to begin construction of the new space in August 2009.  PHYSIOMOTION will occupy the entire building.  TYCO will blog the entire process and notify readers of groundbreaking ceremony as well as move in party and press conference.


May 11 2009

FRESNO INDUSTRIAL PARK NEARS COMPLETION OF MAPPING PHASE

By Eric TienkenTYCO_logo.bmp

TYCO General is nearing completion of phase one approval of Fresno’s newest industrial park in the Southern part of the city.  After two years of planning, the park  is now in its final approval stages for the Phase One  parcel map.

Phase two is also in the final stages of General Plan Amendment (GPA), which includes a Rezone of the existing use from Ag to M1 in anticipation of the tentative map application.

Tarlton Park, as it is aptly named after its owner (Tom Tarlton), who is the principal at Tarlton & Son, Inc. Tarlton Park  is slated to be a 39 lot industrial subdivision located along Hwy 41 at Central Ave.  The site already boasts an example of the building types to occupy the subdivision in the form of two buildings at the center of the 20 acre site serving as corporate headquarters for Tarlton & Son, Inc. Continue reading