New hotels, restaurants and shops coming to Watsonville

City leaders told KION Watsonville is becoming a hot bed for development because of the rebounding economy,local investors wanting to seize opportunitiesand because unlike a lot of the local area, Watsonville actually has the land available for development.

With a population of more than 50,000, Watsonville is known for its agriculture, community and pride.

“Watsonville is kind of that sleeping giant,” said Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Shaz Roth. “We know what it is but now we’re getting noticed by so many other areas.”

Watsonville is catching the eyes of business leaders, investors and developers.

Just recently city council members approved a new project to build two hotels, four restaurants and a gas station on Lee Road on a seven acre parcel that used to be home to an aluminum plant.

“So we’re really making some steady progress, moving forward in a positive direction for our economy here,” said Watsonville city councilor Trina Coffman-Gomez.

City leaders told KION the demand for hotels in Watsonville is high.

“We have had such a shortage for quite some time,” said Gomez.

The hotels and shops would provide services and accommodations to people who visit the city for sports, agriculture or business. On top of that, Watsonville gets spill over tourism from Santa Cruz and the Bay Area.

“It would be a really great place for people to pull off of the freeway and then eat and stay here,” said Roth.

City leaders say the new project will create hundreds of jobs and about $2.6 million in tax revenues every year.

“We have Measure G which is a tax initiative that’s only temporary,” said Gomez. “This will allow another opportunity for tax improvement to help cover some of that cost if Measure G goes away.”

The local shops we talked to are also welcoming the new project. They feel more businesses will bring in more visitors.

“It will bring a lot more tourists here and I’m sure they’ll be willing to try out local businesses,” said Tommy Cassorla with Second Street Caf.

Olive Garden, Starbucks and the Hampton Inn are a few businesses potentially in the mix.

City leaders say construction on the projects will happen as soon as possible.