Municipal leaders call the $1.2 million purchase of the historic IOOF Hall in downtown Manteca a “bold move.”

Jacob Naven, who is running against incumbent Gary Singh in the Nov. 3 citywide mayoral election, calls it “risky business.”

The building in question and the adjoining parking lot is being pursued as a public-private sector partnership renovation by the city.

Manteca is doing so in a bid to secure a tenant — likely dining and/or entertainment related — to lure more people downtown to help power the central district’s revitalization.

And if they can’t find a partner before the start of renovations, the city is ready to go it alone and prep the two-story structure for a future tenant.

The move has been framed as not leaving such an iconic, high profile building go vacant for years or avoiding the risk of the private sector repurposing it for less than optimum uses when it comes to the city’s vision for downtown.

Between the purchase price, the design phase, and construction; Naven noted the city “going it alone” could easily constitute a $3 million hit to the city’s general fund that helps underwrite day-to-day services such as police and fire.

The city, in turn, sees it as an economic development move that pumps up downtown, leads to more taxable sales and increased property values if private property owners follow their lead, generates jobs, and as a place that draws the community together and builds civic pride.

Municipal leaders also see the public sector investment as a way to attract more private capital into downtown by essentially creating an attractive draw that would be mere footsteps from what is arguably Manteca’s most high profile intersection.

Naven contends downtown parking

structure is a better investment

Naven believes the city would better serve downtown by using $3 million instead to build a multi-level parking structure.

Naven said if the repurposing of the IOOF Hall — and the adjoining parking lot — as a community gathering place succeeds, it will create a downtown parking problem.

“All businesses would benefit from more downtown parking,” Naven said.

Philosophically, he believes it is unfair for the city to put its much larger resources behind a chosen private sector partner for what will likely be a restaurant as mom and pop downtown dining options can’t access that much capital.

In a nutshell, Naven said the city will assume the role of “picking winners” and, by default creating losers.

The city is banking on Manteca enjoying the same success that a number of other cities using the same strategy of buying, repurposing, and then selling buildings to spur investments in downtowns.

As such, a restaurant that is designed as a gathering place is expected to create a synergy benefitting other present and future downtown dining options as well as other businesses.

To underscore the potential pitfalls, Naven points to two “old city halls,” one that is physical and the other referencing city leaders — elected and otherwise — that were in power 30 years ago.

First, the physical old city hall.

“The Old City Hall renovation is gorgeous,” Naven said in referencing the two-story brick building in the 100 block of Sycamore Avenue that served as city hall from 1924 until 1978 when it moved to the existing Civic Center campus at 1001 W. Center St.

Naven noted the building has sat empty for roughly a year after the work was completed.

He pointed out there is no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen with the IOOF Hall.

As such, Naven pointed out the city could end up taking the IOOF Hall off the property tax roll for years if the search for a tenant doesn’t pan out in a timely manner.

The other “old city hall” was when city leadership in the late 1980s and early 1990s adopted a “build it and they will come” approach to the municipal golf course clubhouse they were building that they wanted to see a “high end restaurant” on the second floor.

Local commercial real estate brokers warned against the move at the time. It wasn’t based on a public-private partnership not working, but the site in term of location and the market did not make sense for sit-down restaurants.

That may not be as much of an issue with the IOOF Hall as the location as a much less muscular market  more than 15 years ago supported Kelly Brothers Brewing Co. & Brickyard Oven Restaurant just down the block until the Great Recession sunk it.

What happened at the golf course was a textbook way of how not to do things.

The second floor — with a completely equipped kitchen — sat vacant for more than six years.

Then the city secured a restaurant tenant that said the kitchen was not equipped properly for their use.

That led to the city spending more money. That partnership ended with the city, based on public records at the time, losing almost $40,000.

The next tenant was a bit better, but unpaid bills the city was stuck with, such as PG&E, exceeded $10,000.

It wasn’t until they partnered with the late Frank Guinta, a local businessman who had successfully read the Manteca market for years with various ventures where it was 100 percent of his money on the line, came up with the dining model that works.

Municipal staff, that now includes personnel with economic development expertise, has no intention of being an “operating partner.”

As such, the objective is to sell the property to a private sector concern whether it is before renovations start or after they are completed.

Naven also said the city could be setting a precedent.

He said it is likely that other downtown property owners could look at the city wanting to sell to them instead of doing so on the open market.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com