North Modesto site chosen for Stanislaus Veterans Center
An artist rendering shows the Stanislaus Veterans Center at the Sylvan Square shopping center in Modesto.
Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County
After seven other proposals were considered, a north Modesto
shopping center has been chosen for the long-awaited Stanislaus
Veterans Center.
Under the plan, the county will lease 37,547 square feet for a meeting hall and one-stop veteran services center in Sylvan Square, at the northeast corner of Sylvan Avenue and Coffee Road.
The shopping center in Modesto’s Beyer High School area is home to a Marie Callendar’s restaurant, Walgreens and other businesses. A commercial building that formerly housed an Ace Hardware store and grocery market will be improved for the veterans center.
The project will give veterans groups a 315-seat hall for sit-down dinners and dances; full-service kitchen; lounge; seven-room conference center; and offices for county veterans services, the Area Agency on Aging, adult protective services and veterans transportation. Help with entering the job market will be provided to younger veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq, proponents said.
In addition, a memorial lobby will display military artifacts. The county-appointed Veterans Advisory Commission has worked on plans for the center for four years and recently voted to support the north Modesto site.
The Board of Supervisors could approve the location Tuesday and authorize staff members to negotiate terms of a 10-year lease with Sylvan Square LLC.
Annual cost of the lease would be around $795,000, with just over $500,000 coming from the county, $80,000 from the city of Modesto, $125,000 from the Veterans Foundation of Stanislaus County and $50,000 from hall rentals.
According to a county staff report released Friday, veterans organizations would use the hall for free. When not used by veterans, the facilities could be rented to other groups.
Patty Hill Thomas, chief operating officer for the county, said the agreement makes the property owners responsible for improvements to transform the commercial building into the banquet hall and services center.
The Veterans Foundation, which registered as a nonprofit in July 2015, is responsible for equipping and furnishing the banquet hall, meeting rooms and memorial lobby.
Hill Thomas said the lease proposal from owners of the downtown building was not within the approved budget. The north Modesto location is safe for older veterans, it has bus service, meeting space is all on one level, and it is centrally located for the estimated 27,000 veterans in Stanislaus County, proponents said.
Other sites considered were the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club on Sunset Avenue; The Seasons Multicultural Event Center on McHenry Avenue; a site at 705 E. Whitmore Ave.; buildings at 948 11th St. and 140 Calaveras Ave.; and the former Save Mart supermarket at 1801 H St.
The proposals were evaluated for economics, suitability, location, parking and planning.
Hill Thomas said the 95355 ZIP code, which includes Sylvan Square, and the adjacent 95350 area have the largest concentration of veterans in the community.
It’s a “wonderful location for veterans,” said Becky Crow, CEO of the Veterans Foundation of Stanislaus County. “We have more than 30 veterans organizations in the county and are able to make the banquet hall and meeting rooms available to them at no cost. We believe this will help revitalize these organizations.”
Crow said none of the original lease proposals was within the project’s budget. But the owners of Sylvan Square agreed to stay within the budget in making their “best and final” offer, she said.
If county supervisors give approval, officials hope the improvements are completed in time so the new center can open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
“The (Sylvan Square location) suits us the best, and it is within our means,” said Richard Edgecomb, chairman of the Veterans Advisory Commission.
Edgecomb noted that the American Legion hall on Santa Cruz Avenue is in the Tuolumne River floodplain, has a parking lot with no lights, and is not accessible for many veterans. Other groups don’t have a good place to meet.
The north Modesto site “is safer for our older people and we will try to have a children’s room so the younger veterans and their families can use the center,” Edgecomb said. “There are about 25 different veterans organizations that don’t have a place.
Under the plan, the county will lease 37,547 square feet for a meeting hall and one-stop veteran services center in Sylvan Square, at the northeast corner of Sylvan Avenue and Coffee Road.
The shopping center in Modesto’s Beyer High School area is home to a Marie Callendar’s restaurant, Walgreens and other businesses. A commercial building that formerly housed an Ace Hardware store and grocery market will be improved for the veterans center.
The project will give veterans groups a 315-seat hall for sit-down dinners and dances; full-service kitchen; lounge; seven-room conference center; and offices for county veterans services, the Area Agency on Aging, adult protective services and veterans transportation. Help with entering the job market will be provided to younger veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq, proponents said.
In addition, a memorial lobby will display military artifacts. The county-appointed Veterans Advisory Commission has worked on plans for the center for four years and recently voted to support the north Modesto site.
The Board of Supervisors could approve the location Tuesday and authorize staff members to negotiate terms of a 10-year lease with Sylvan Square LLC.
Annual cost of the lease would be around $795,000, with just over $500,000 coming from the county, $80,000 from the city of Modesto, $125,000 from the Veterans Foundation of Stanislaus County and $50,000 from hall rentals.
According to a county staff report released Friday, veterans organizations would use the hall for free. When not used by veterans, the facilities could be rented to other groups.
Patty Hill Thomas, chief operating officer for the county, said the agreement makes the property owners responsible for improvements to transform the commercial building into the banquet hall and services center.
The Veterans Foundation, which registered as a nonprofit in July 2015, is responsible for equipping and furnishing the banquet hall, meeting rooms and memorial lobby.
Other sites evaluated
Last September, the county asked property owners for lease proposals for available buildings in Modesto that are large enough for a veterans center. An evaluation team composed of representatives from the city of Modesto, Veterans Advisory Commission, Veterans Foundation and the county took a hard look at five of the seven proposals and then narrowed the field to two finalists: Sylvan Square and the 1325 H St. building downtown where The Modesto Bee leases offices.Hill Thomas said the lease proposal from owners of the downtown building was not within the approved budget. The north Modesto location is safe for older veterans, it has bus service, meeting space is all on one level, and it is centrally located for the estimated 27,000 veterans in Stanislaus County, proponents said.
Other sites considered were the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club on Sunset Avenue; The Seasons Multicultural Event Center on McHenry Avenue; a site at 705 E. Whitmore Ave.; buildings at 948 11th St. and 140 Calaveras Ave.; and the former Save Mart supermarket at 1801 H St.
The proposals were evaluated for economics, suitability, location, parking and planning.
Hill Thomas said the 95355 ZIP code, which includes Sylvan Square, and the adjacent 95350 area have the largest concentration of veterans in the community.
It’s a “wonderful location for veterans,” said Becky Crow, CEO of the Veterans Foundation of Stanislaus County. “We have more than 30 veterans organizations in the county and are able to make the banquet hall and meeting rooms available to them at no cost. We believe this will help revitalize these organizations.”
Crow said none of the original lease proposals was within the project’s budget. But the owners of Sylvan Square agreed to stay within the budget in making their “best and final” offer, she said.
If county supervisors give approval, officials hope the improvements are completed in time so the new center can open on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
“The (Sylvan Square location) suits us the best, and it is within our means,” said Richard Edgecomb, chairman of the Veterans Advisory Commission.
Edgecomb noted that the American Legion hall on Santa Cruz Avenue is in the Tuolumne River floodplain, has a parking lot with no lights, and is not accessible for many veterans. Other groups don’t have a good place to meet.
The north Modesto site “is safer for our older people and we will try to have a children’s room so the younger veterans and their families can use the center,” Edgecomb said. “There are about 25 different veterans organizations that don’t have a place.
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