This architectural rendering by L Street Architects, Limited, of Modesto, shows a finished look of the Prime Shine Express Car Wash which is under construction adjacent to Fire Station 91 on 11th Street near the Safeway shopping center. Courtesy of the city of Tracy planning department
The Prime Shine Express Car Wash is being constructed parallel to 11th Street with the entrance and exit at the Alden Glen Drive traffic light.
Amie Mendes, economic development analyst for the city of Tracy, said the business got its site approved because it’s less than an acre and has enough space for about 20 cars to await entering the car wash building.
Mendes said city officials determined the business’ traffic would not interfere with the fire department at Station 91, 1701 W. 11th St., as crews respond to calls.
“It was good from the get-go to make sure the layout wasn’t going to impede on their access,” she said. “They’ve been more than willing to work with us and help us.”
Since the fire engine and ladder truck exit directly onto 11th Street in response to emergency calls, Mendes said the only time firefighters would be affected would be on their return to the station.
Both the fire station and the car wash would use the same easement at the intersection. But to assure firefighters would not have to wait long to get back into the station, car wash officials agreed to put in a paved landscape area in front of the car wash that firefighters could use, if needed.
Once the project’s city building permit was approved in October, city officials met with the developer and car wash co-owner, Evan Porges, to address any concerns, according to city senior planner Vicki Lombardo.
“We all met at the site when they first started designing it,” Lombardo said. “They cooperated with the city. They did a good job working with us.”
According to officials at the Prime Shine Car Wash, which has its headquarters in Modesto, Porges was unavailable for comment because he is out of the country.
Lombardo said the original design did not mesh well with the neighborhood, but the developer was willing to make alterations.
Tracy Fire Division Chief Dave Bramell said the car wash made assurances that there would be no impact to the fire department.
Mendez said Porges had been looking for a location in Tracy for a long time. She said he was seeking a central location with a lot of traffic, and the 11th Street site was the only one available to accommodate the lot size Porges needed.
• Contact Denise Ellen Rizzo at 830-4225 or drizzo@tracypress.com.
Evan Porges
That location has been a dirt lot since before Safeway, Orchard, McDonald's, etc., were ever built there. While I personally prefer the size of Tracy 30 years ago, I realize growth here is inevitable. If I had to choose between a car wash that employed a few locals or that same lonely dirt lot stuck between other established buildings, I suppose I'd choose the car wash.
Welcome to town. I hope your experiences here, both personal and business-related, are beneficial.
The best option of all in my opinion is to wash your car at home. It often takes less time, the job will be higher quality, nothing will be stolen from your glovebox and it costs far far less. 95% of the time that is what I do but on the occasions when I have too much on my plate and just want to take it somewhere it would be nice to have a better option.
Not sure that placing the new place on 11th street right next to a fire station was a wise choice for the owners. 20 cars isnt very many and it seems like it is in a spot that is likely to screw up traffic. I would have wanted to put it in a more open area, perhaps south of valpico on Corrall Hollow but that is, or should be, the business owners call.
Ever wonder why 1500 sq foot houses sit on 3000 sq foot plots all over Tracy? Follow the money.
OINK
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While a 1500 sq foot home was considered a nice sized house in nineteen-seventy, today the average sized single-family home is a little bigger. It was not until after those housing policies under Carter that people started buying houses bigger than they could afford.
If we trail the money back to nineteen-seventy it would be fun trivia. But only if you are planning to leave bread crumbs for us to follow. Additionally, many of the homes on Highland to as far as The South Side (meaning the downtown and a little further) also fit that bill, but were built earlier than nineteen-sixty, so I'm afraid you are going to have to give us a clue.