SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — The City of Shafter is slated to get a new shopping center called the Ranch Marketplace.
What's been made public so far through planning commission and city council filings shows the nearly 11-acre plot of land bordering Central Valley Highway and Ash Avenue is slated to be the new home of a shopping center, which will include a grocery store, gas station, and other retail spaces. As of mid-March, it's unclear which tenants will occupy the space.
23ABC spoke with the owner of the Ranch Marketplace property about commenting for this story. The owner said they would comment at a later date.
We also reached out to the Shafter city manager, who said he did not have a comment on the proposed development.
With little known about the tenants that are slated to occupy the space, we were curious to see what Shafter residents would like to see inside city limits. Off-camera, several people said they’d like to see larger national brands like a Walmart or Costco come to Shafter.
“Walmart, because I go to the Walmart in Wasco or in Bakersfield and it would make it more…” said a Shafter Resident
“It’d be more convenient for you?” asked 23ABC.
“Yes,” said the resident
Osiel Suarez says he’s lived in Shafter his whole life, and he said he didn't expect to hear about a new shopping center in Shafter until way later in his life.
“I honestly thought that stuff like this would happen way into the future, maybe like 15-20, years from now. It's definitely surprising to see how much we're growing,” said Suarez.
Suarez added he’d like to see the new shopping center populated with stores that give residents the ability to spend their money in Shafter rather than having to head elsewhere in Kern County.
“I would definitely like to see apparel stores, and maybe some more general needs. We don't have that many stores here that make ourselves sustainable. So a lot of times we have to go out to other towns, like Wasco or Bakersfield.”
Construction on the project has not started yet.
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