You might say Manteca is wasting no time to doing the “right” thing in downtown.
City crews on Monday started work on altering curbing and replacing sidewalk on the west of the 100 block of North Main Street adjoining a parking lot that is part of the $1.2 million IOOF Hall acquisition that has yet to clear escrow.
The work eliminated a driveway from North Main Street to the parking lot.
Crews will be putting in a dedicated right turn lane from southbound Main Street to westbound Yosemite Avenue.
No parking will be allowed along Main Street from the alley to Yosemite Avenue.
There was a dedicated right turn lane from 1993 to 2002 that was eliminated 24 years ago on the advice of a consultant to improve the appeal of downtown.
The bulb-outs that were placed there instead to create parking and a tree canopy were among the first removed by the council. All of the bulb-outs that were put in the 100 block of North Main Street have been taken out.
They were put in place on the advice of a consulting firm that argued creating traffic backup on Main Street would give motorists a chance to see what downtown had to offer by passing the time in traffic looking in to store windows.
The fix is the latest of a number around Manteca where staff — working with council members — are tweaking to address traffic flow issues.
The latest is being made possible by the pending acquisition of the IOOF Halll.
It isn’t exactly jumping the gun.
The sales terms with the property owner requires parking lot related improvements such as new paving before the city assumes ownership.
The parking lot will still be accessed from Yosemite Avenue and the alley.
City officials have said when Manteca takes possession of the property it will be a public parking lot, as opposed to a private parking lot, from Day One.
That said, the city may make “interim” improvements in the months after it takes ownership to use the corner lot on the top of downtown’s most high profile intersection to program uses and/or activities to draw more people to the central district.
Eventually, permanent improvements could be made that might even couple the space with an adjoining city parking lot north of the alley next to the Deaf Puppy Comedy Club to create a gathering place for events in the central district.
It that happens, it will depend heavily on a $980,000 downtown master plan that is being launched after a contract was awarded in January.
It is also dependent on what the city may end up doing with the IOOF Hall.
They want to repurpose it as a way to draw people downtown since they see it as a “gateway” building. Such repurposed uses typically involve some form of dining and/or entertainment venues that have the ability to create high traffic in terms of patrons.
The city, which is using fees collected on new growth for economic development to fund the purchase, has indicated they want control over what the next use of the building will be working preferably with a private sector partner to come up with a concept through the renovation phase.
If needed, the city has said they will move the redo of the building with a specific use in mind without a partner. They have indicated they have no intention of going into business per se. As such, if they had to go that route, they would look for someone to either purchase or lease the improved property.
Similar city/private sector partnerships have taken place in others cities as part of efforts to revitalize downtowns.
The city’s decision to buy the building at the various least means it won’t sit empty and will be upgraded to today’s building standards while being in a position to protect the unique architectural character of the structure.
It also gives the control over future uses.
And it almost assures the second floor — that for much of the first past of the 20th century was the center of Manteca’s social activities — will again see more robust use.
That said, any high use of the second floor will likely require retrofitting the structure with an elevator.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
