Going-out-of-business sale signs are up at the Forever 21 stores in Fresno and Bakersfield. Employees at the Visalia Mall location say their store will remain open, a claim confirmed by Visalia Mall Manager Rick Feder.
However, the Tulare Outlet Mall location will be closing, according to an employee at the store, where signs are posted.
The parent company is struggling financially and may file for bankruptcy for the second time since 2019. Visalia Mall owner Brookfield Properties owns a stake in the Los Angeles-based discount fashion retailer.
Visalia Mall Manager Rick Feder said the Forever 21 store in Visalia is “right-sized” at 12,500 square feet. By contrast, the Fresno Forever 21 location is a former Gottschalks space at around 150,000 square feet — an anchor-size space. He said that is the case with many of the stores that are closing, as they are “not practical in today’s retail market.”
Reports indicate the company plans to close about 200 stores nationwide.
This is the second time in a week that a retailer closed stores around California, but not in Visalia. Joann Stores spared the Visalia location while Fresno and scores of others closed.
Costco gets permit for Riggin Avenue fueling station
Costco Wholesale is set to break ground on its northside warehouse project at Riggin Avenue and Shirk Street, starting with a 16-island fueling station. The city issued the permit on Feb. 11. The new service station will have 32 gas pumps, compared to 24 at the existing Costco in town. Hanford’s Costco has 16 pumps.
The 12,684-square-foot construction project is valued at $4 million. Building permits for the warehouse itself are expected soon.
New Visalia Industrial Park?
The Visalia City Council will consider a new industrial park at the March 3 meeting. The project, called the Shirk-Riggin Industrial Project, will have a total building footprint of approximately 3.72 million square feet on 284 acres. It would be the largest industrial project in Visalia’s history. The development is being proposed by Seefried Industries, and the land is owned by the Ritchie family.
The hearing starts at 7 p.m.
The public hearing will cover the certification of a final environmental impact report (EIR), a development agreement, a general plan amendment, a conditional use permit, and a tentative parcel map. The EIR determined that all project impacts were either less than significant or could be mitigated to a less-than-significant level, except for the following impacts that are considered significant and unavoidable:
The final report follows a notice of availability period, during which the draft EIR was made available for public review from April 11 to May 28, 2024.
If approved, proceedings will begin for the annexation of three parcels totaling approximately 284 acres into Visalia’s city limits. Upon annexation, the area will be zoned Industrial (I) and Light Industrial (I-L), consistent with the land use designations of the Visalia General Plan Land Use Map.
The proposed project site is approximately 284 acres, located on the north side of Riggin Avenue between Shirk Street and Kelsey Street.