Hanford experiencing an economic boom

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- New buildings are popping up, to make room for big business. A building in an undeveloped part of town is just started to go up. Soon, there will be pavement instead of dirt, and businesses instead of an empty lot.

At the corner of 12th and Lacey in Hanford, There is a lot of noise, a lot of traffic, and a lot of construction.

Darrel Pyle is the city manager. He says, the noise is a good thing because it means, his small town is growing. "We went through a dry spell with the recession and I think we're coming back."

He says it started with In N Out, and moved north along 12th Avenue. New businesses have filled up vacant spaces, including one of the biggest ones, Hobby Lobby. It opened a week ago, across the street from the newest development in town.

Warren Vasquez with Howell Electric is laying the ground work for the electricity. "It means work for us, and for my brothers and sisters, and their union trades."

When his work is done, the Habit Burger, Chipotle and Sleep Train will be moving in -- which means more jobs for people in town, more places to eat, and another place to shop.

"For the size of the town, we're able to attract some great businesses, a lot of towns this size aren't able to do that," said Jenni Wittus, Hanford.

Pyle says Hanford hasn't done anything new. There aren't any new incentives for businesses. He says there's just a lot of potential. The town is making noise and developers are hearing it. "The market is here, and we notice that development community follows the market."