Clovis city planners have grand plans for new urban center

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- The city of Clovis has grand plans for a new urban center in the northwest part of the city. The proposed site covers four square miles and is bounded by Willow, Shepherd, Copper and Sunnyside Avenues.

The four-square-mile area in the northwest part of Clovis is used mostly for growing crops, but planning director Dwight Kroll figures Heritage Grove will fit perfectly with the growth of the city.

"Like all our urban villages we try to create sub-communities of Clovis of about 30,000 people," he explained. "In this case, the design for Heritage Grove is very agricultural. I think we call it, 'Agri-Burban.'"

A park on Clovis Avenue, north of Shepherd, honors the city's ag heritage which will play into the landscape of the entire project.

"Probably the closest I could make in terms of a parallel would be maybe some of the winery types of architecture vernacular that you see in the Napa Valley where it's somewhat contemporary, but it's also very agricultural," Kroll said.

Just across from Clovis Community College is where an urban village is planned. The gathering spot would offer places to eat as well as places for people to live, bike and hike.

"What we want to do is something that's akin to kind of a downtown Davis or San Luis Obispo here," Kroll said.

In a year, Kroll expects to see the first signs of housing in the Heritage Grove development. The city has begun discussions with property owners and said it would take 15 to 20 years to complete the Heritage Grove development.