gmhTODAY 25 gmhTODAY April May 2019 | Page 14

The data reveals needs and opportunities in Gilroy. For example, when it comes to the industrial/R&D market, leasable space as of a year ago was 5,174,955 square feet. Average vacancy over the past 4 years has dropped by roughly 10 percent. Lease rates have more than doubled since 2013, rising to $11/square foot. The aver- age annual construction over the past decade was 50,000 square feet. In a separate analysis, EPS identified “opportunity and corridor sites” within the City and highlighted possibilities for highest-and-best-use development. The study noted current commercial real estate trends including urban mixed-use, innovation center, and experiential retail development. The analysis included eight opportunity sites located throughout the City, including two that are City- owned; and seven corridor sites located along three main corridors identified by the City as the Monterey Street, First Street, and Tenth Street Corridors. Three main corridors: Monterey, First and Tenth Streets. For example, Opportunity Site #5 – Rancho San Ysidro is a vacant 60-acre parcel bordered by Highway 152 and Camino Arroyo and zoned C3 (commercial/general industrial). The EPS assessment recommended consideration as a horizontal mixed-use Employment Center, an “innovation center” develop- ment. Development constraints listed: the City’s Ag Mitigation Policy, the need for signifi cant on- and off-site infrastructure improvements and mitigation, and historically commercial zoning east of Highway 101. 14 GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN april/may 2019 gmhtoday.com