Work on Ceres Walmart Supercenter continues as another famous brand eyes nearby site
The intersection of Service and Mitchell roads in Ceres may not be an Iowa cornfield, but the same “If you build it, they will come” philosophy appears to apply to the long-planned and now well-underway Walmart Supercenter at the site.
After 14 years of discussion, legal disputes and delays, the exterior walls are up and construction is humming along at the new big box retailer development. As the store takes shape as the anchor to the new 26-acre Mitchell Ranch center shopping complex on the northwest corner of the junction, the adjacent proposed Gateway Center across the street already has a major brand attached to the project.
And if you like your burgers “Animal Style,” you should be pretty excited about who it is. In-N-Out Burger, the California-based cult favorite hamburger seller, has approval to put one of its restaurants on the southwest corner of Service and Mitchell in the Gateway Center, said Ceres City Manager Tom Westbrook.
Plans for the companion development across from the new Walmart would include restaurants, a hotel and junior anchors as well as that In-N-Out. Entitlements for the development have been granted, Westbrook said, but no building plans or other tenants have been announced yet.
Westbrook said the 11-acre Gateway Center project could be ready for construction in perhaps six months, with no timeline yet for competition.
Meanwhile, work on the Mitchell Ranch Center’s major anchor started in December. The new 185,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter will have expanded merchandise and food options, as well as more space to accommodate the chain’s drive-up grocery pickup service and other online ordering.
Interior work has begun on the project and while Walmart has not made any official announcements about opening dates yet, Westbrook said the company has said it expects to open within a year of construction. So it’s likely the new Supercenter will open in late 2021.
The rest of the Mitchell Ranch Center should have space for more than 100,000-square-feet of additional retail, including junior anchors, other shops and both sit-down and drive-thru restaurants.
“The prospect of bringing new commercial business to that area is extremely exciting for Ceres,” Westbrook said.
Interest in other vacant Ceres retail space increases
Once the new Walmart Supercenter opens, it will replace the existing Ceres Walmart further north on Mitchell Road, just off Hatch Road. That 130,000-square-foot store first opened in 1993. Westbrook said Walmart owns the building and no other potential tenants have expressed interest yet. Still, he’s optimistic a new tenant for the site could be on the horizon in six months to a year.
Westbrook said the large soon-to-be vacant building could work well for a Kohl’s or Lowe’s or Costco-type store.
And there’s some reason for optimism because of recent interest in another empty big-box space in Ceres. Westbrook said there have been inquiries about the former Kmart building on Hatch Road, just off Highway 99. Kmart announced it would close the store in late 2018 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy. The building has been vacant since the start of 2019.
Westbrook said a potential tenant is in the due diligence process to possibly use the site, and he hopes a formal development application will be submitted in May or June.
Until then, the city’s main focus is finishing the Walmart Supercenter and getting the doors open.
“It’s been a long process, we’re excited about the development of the Walmart and believe it will bring other development in that corner of Mitchell and Service,” he said. “It’s a keystone that could provide a lot of other goods and services for Ceres residents. I’d say if you drive by there in the next year to five years, you’re going to see a lot of change.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
