They bought a downtown Modesto block while also renovating two well-known city complexes
In real estate, they always say location is everything. That’s good news for third-generation Modesto real estate developer Brian Dole, who has great locations but admittedly terrible timing.
In September 2019, Dole and his family real estate company, Vintage Properties, purchased the former Crescent Supply building in downtown Modesto, which was destroyed by a massive fire a year before. The day they went into escrow, another fire struck and further damaged the remaining space.
Then in February 2020, Dole proudly announced the purchase of the well-established east Modesto shopping complex Century Center. A month later, the pandemic hit and ground much business to a halt.
But instead of backing away from their Modesto investments, Dole and his family’s Vintage Properties are making another big bet on the city with the recent purchase of a block of buildings on Ninth Street. And long-planned renovations to both the burned-out Crescent Supply building and Century Center are well underway.
Since the 2018 fire gutted its interior, the former Crescent Supply building at the corner of Eighth and I streets has become a downtown eyesore. Crescent Supply itself moved back to its former location on McHenry Avenue after the blaze, where it is happily operating today.
When the Doles purchased the burned building, they had wanted to develop it as affordable housing. But the approval process was too slow, Dole said, so they switched gears to just rebuilding the existing 17,000-square-foot structure for storage space.
The space already has been leased to McCarthy, the construction company behind the new $345 million Modesto courthouse. Work on the Stanislaus Superior courthouse is expected to be finish in late 2024. Dole said McCarthy is leasing the newly renovated space for the next three and a half years to store supplies and equipment as it continues the multi-year project.
After that, Dole said they plan to redevelop the space into a mixed-use retail and office building.
“We (bought the building) for its proximity to the new courthouse, its proximity to transit. I am expecting downtown to really start having investment flowing into it with the ACE train and other developments,” he said.
That reasoning also prompted Dole to purchase the Cook Marketplace, a sprawling complex of buildings a few blocks away on Ninth Street. The parcel encompasses the entire city block between E and F streets, including existing businesses El Sol Mexican Restaurant and some auto shops.
As with the old Crescent Supply building, Dole said, he was excited about the prospect of downtown developments. His short-term plan is to “stabilize” the complex and bring up its occupancy. The center currently has about 30% vacancy. He said all current tenants will remain.
He would like to partner with others to put in an affordable housing project or other residential development in the location in the long-term. Residential properties are in fact where Vintage Properties got its start, and the company owns a number of homes, duplexes and apartment complexes in the region.
What’s happening at Century Center
One of their projects with no residential aspirations, but that will likely make a lot of local residents happy, is the long-planned renovations of the Century Center shopping center at Oakdale Road and Orangeburg Avenue. Once one of the city’s premiere shopping complexes, the east Modesto retail center has struggled with vacancies since both its longtime major anchors, Gottschalks department store and Raley’s supermarket, moved out in 2009 and 2012, respectively.
But the Doles have worked to fill spaces since taking over in 2020, bringing in new restaurants and other businesses while also working toward a major facade renovation to update the center’s look. Work began this past week on a long-stalled facade renovation that will update the complex, which debuted in 1979.
The sleek, contemporary design is based on the redesign concepts created by the center’s previous owner, who had the complex for two years before selling to Vintage Properties. Dole said it took longer than expected to get approved engineering and permits, delaying the project. But now it’s expected to be completed in about a year, with the center’s renovation split into five two-month phases each.
“We really liked the design and changed almost nothing from the original concepts,” Dole said. “The idea is to modernize it to the standard of what people expect for retail and give it an overall refresh. People don’t want it to look like you are walking up to something from the 1970s.”
One of the facade renovations will be installing a 4,000-square-foot patio that will run from Taqueria El Maguey to Ciao Bella Ristorante. The Italian restaurant is also nearing completion of an interior expansion, which will triple its space and should be done around Thanksgiving.
Dole has completed work on his new Luxx Labs Salon Suites, which he has opened with his wife inside the shopping center. The suites concept creates 32 individual and enclosed private rooms that can be rented by stylists. The space opened in early July and already has leased more than a third of the spaces.
Each suite comes with chairs, sinks, cabinets and other amenities. All utilities, wifi and more are included in the rental price. The studio still has single suites from 115 to 170 square feet available for $250 to $400 weekly, and double suites at 170 square feet available for $425 weekly.
There is also a spark of hope that a possible tenant will move into the former Raley’s space, which has been empty for 10 years. Dole said he has been approached by a few grocery stores.
The former Blockbuster Video space, which fronts Oakdale Road, will see a dental office take over half the space. And a well-known drive-thru coffee brand has expressed interest in making a coffee kiosk in the center.
This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
