Ceres OKs $1 million agreement for shopping center. Here are businesses in the works.
Construction of the Ceres Gateway Center along Highway 99 may begin in the next few months after the City Council on Monday approved a $1 million agreement to build the shopping area.
The improvement agreement for the 13.5-acre project includes road work for entrances at Service and Mitchell roads, clearing the way for In-N-Out Burger and other future businesses.
The developer Ceres Gateway Center LLC can start construction as soon as it hires a contractor, so City Manager Tom Westbrook said in an email that he expects initiation before the end of 2021. The developer planned spaces for nine retail buildings, a hotel and a convenience store with a gas station and car wash. In-N-Out, the only announced business in the center, is processing construction documents for a restaurant, Westbrook said.
“When this project is fully developed, it will bring a significant amount of sales tax revenue in addition to eventual property tax revenue to the city,” Westbrook said during the meeting. “This is really putting themselves in position to sell properties so that they can deliver lots so that they can build the projects.”
Given the current high demand for public and private construction, Westbrook did not give an estimated completion date. Ceres approved an earlier version of the Gateway Center in May 2008, but project permits expired four years later, after the recession, per a staff report. The planning commission approved the developer’s new version of the project in February 2020, meeting minutes show.
Ceres Gateway Center LLC agreed to pay for the $1 million construction improvements, including installing a traffic signal at the main entrance to the shopping area on Service Road, building sidewalks, adding street lighting and extending utility systems. The council on Monday unanimously approved the improvement agreement and final project map.
Ceres Gateway Center 2nd phase expected
The improvement agreement covers the first construction phase outlined in the developer’s plans. The proposed second phase will focus on hotel and retail development, as well as add parking and landscaping, per a staff report.
A 64,000-square-foot hotel with 80 rooms can be built on the designated space. Initially in 2008, the developer planned for two three-story hotels in the Gateway Center.
No start date for the second improvement phase has been projected. Construction estimates approved Monday do not include the approved 85-foot pylon sign for the shopping area.
The new Walmart Supercenter under construction is not part of the Gateway Center. Located on the northwest corner of the Service and Mitchell Road intersection, Walmart is part of the 26-acre Mitchell Ranch shopping center project. The City Council approved Mitchell Ranch in 2011.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
