North Visalia continues to grow with new commercial and retail development

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- There's already a large shopping complex on Dinuba Boulevard in North Visalia. But now, according to city officials, there's interest in developing some land on the west side of the busy street, south of Riverway Sports Park.

Visalia City Manager Randy Groom says the proposal is still in its infancy, but if built, would be more than just a strip mall.

He says it would be another neighborhood commercial hub.

"So in that development what you're seeing is a couple of large anchor store spaces, they have not been designated yet," Groom said. "But also smaller shop pads, restaurant pads, again the kind of thing where people want to have the resources close enough, they're not having to drive all the way across town to find those kinds of amenities in their own neighborhoods."

Groom says commercial and retail activity in North Visalia directly coincides with strong residential development.

If you look at a map of recent residential activity in Visalia (where red represents active or recently completed development) you'll see a vast majority is in North and Northwest Visalia.

Citywide, there have been more than 400 single-family home building permits issued every year since 2013.

One example of north side development is near Mooney Boulevard and Riverway Drive, where new homes are being built.

Groom says Riverway Sports Park is a regional destination that continues to grow.

"We're continuing to add amenities there, so we have a lot of traffic in that area, not only just the residents and the neighborhoods but that's a regional draw that brings a lot of people into the north end of Visalia," Groom said.

Mooney Boulevard remains the city's commercial corridor.

And Groom says East Main Street is having a renaissance of new, never-before-seen development.

But there's no doubt---the north side is growing, and as such, needs some services of its own.

Next week, Visalia officials will be going to Monterey, where they'll be marketing the city to retailers thinking about expanding in California.