Press Releases
Santana Ranch to Host Community Meetings
Proposed development invites community to receive latest details, share thoughts and ideas
The local Santana Ranch development team is seeking the community's thoughts and ideas and would like to share the latest details regarding the planning and application process. Community orientation meetings will be held at 8:00AM on December 12 (Friday) at the YMCA of San Benito County on 339 Fifth Street, Hollister and at 6:30PM on December 15 (Monday) at the Ridgemark Golf & County Club Tennis Center located at 3800 Airline Drive, Hollister. The goal of these meetings is to inform the community of the status and latest details on the Santana Ranch planning and application process.
In 1981, the Guerra Nut Shelling Company led by Anthony Guerra, and area land owners began working with San Benito County on plans for developing the Santana Ranch property with a vision to bring more housing, businesses and services to the community, and thereby provide more opportunities for future generations. To encourage development in this location of the County, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in 1989 to designate the region as a "Special Study Area." Upon approval, construction in Santana Ranch is anticipated to begin within two years, and continue construction in phases over ten years.
Santana Ranch will stimulate the economic growth of San Benito County and the City of Hollister, both during the estimated 10-year construction period and for many years to come. The smart community design facilitates and enhances opportunities for living and working, including telecommunicating from a neighborhood business center that will enable local residents to work near home, contribute to local job growth and reduce worker out-commuting. During the estimated 10-year construction period, it is projected that there will be over 500 jobs generated per year. Post-construction, new business opportunities arising from the Santana Ranch development will generate an estimated 700 jobs.
Santana Ranch is a proposed master planned community project on approximately 292 acres of unincorporated San Benito County. Utilizing smart growth principles and a contemporary planning approach, the Santana Ranch community plan will create easy pedestrian access to its neighborhood commercial area, parks and school. It will provide community members with employment opportunities and a variety of housing types utilizing sustainable construction methods, technologies and materials. The community will offer a diverse mix of affordable homes for a variety of household sizes and income levels, featuring 697 single-family residential units, 318 medium density units, 77 improved lots to local builders, a public school site, neighborhood commercial areas, 6 acres of mixed-use commercial/residential areas, employment centers, professional offices and options for multiple residential uses. The site will also include 18 acres of formal open park space to include a community park, neighborhood and pocket parks, wide roadside trails and landscaped parkways. The local Santana Ranch development team is committed to utilizing smart growth principles to build a residential community that is environmentally beneficial & nurtures community livability.
The Santana Ranch community maintains a commitment to the preservation of sustainable natural resources by employing smart growth principles and green building design elements. Features of the community include energy efficient homes designed following green building guidelines, using recyclable materials, passive solar, water efficient landscaping, native plants, and energy efficient appliances, heating and electrical systems. Additional plans call for a business and telecommuting center enabling local residents to work near their homes, providing opportunities to walk and bike daily to work. Last but not least, the Santana Ranch proposal incorporates a convenient neighborhood-serving commercial center and school connected by miles of bicycle and pedestrian walkways, encouraging residents to support local restaurants and retailers.
The estimated economic impacts of the Santana Ranch community total approximately $710 million and include; $292 million in construction-related impacts, $67 million direct economic impacts generated by households and employees living and working in Santana Ranch, $20 million of indirect and induced impacts produced in the County, 519 jobs created by the development of retail and office land uses, and through the increased demand for goods and services by residents, and 175 jobs that support industries and households in the County
For further information on the community meetings, contact 831-630-1853, email info@SantanaRanch.com or visit www.santanaranch.com.
The Santana Ranch development team is comprised of longtime members of the community, including members of Hollister's Guerra Family (Frank, Al and Jeff Guerra) and Stonecreek Properties.
The Guerra family has a long history of owning and operating businesses in the San Benito County community. The Guerras first arrived in Hollister in 1918, and in 1947 founded Guerra Nut Shelling Company Inc., a dried fruit and walnut processing company. Over the years, Guerra Nut Shelling Company has been managed by various members of the Guerra family, the reins handed from father to son as each generation learned the business. Today the company, still operating from its original 1947 address, is lead by the families' third generation Frank V. Guerra, president. Guerra Nut Shelling Company processes walnuts, shipping their product globally.