Rabobank building in downtown Salinas could have over 50 apartments soon

A future apartment complex in Salinas could help revitalize an area of town some residents say is not living up to its potential.

The downtown district has a number of old, underutilized buildings, so the Salinas City Council passed what is called an adaptive reuse ordinance last month.

It allows non-residential buildings in downtown to be reused for housing without having to comply with strict residential zoning codes.

For example, the old building housing Rabobank in downtown Salinas on the intersection of Alisal and Main Street is six stories tall. The building owners want to make the space above the first floor into over 50 apartments.

Having housing in downtown centers around one key question.

“What kind of a life can we have in downtown Salinas?” said Salinas City Center Board President Catherine Kobrinsky Evans. “We’re not trying to be a shopping mall. We’re trying to be a place for people to live, work and play.”

Passersby in downtown shared some of their opinions with KION on Thursday.

“I think it’s a good idea, I like mixed use,” said Xenia Moos, who was visiting Salinas.

“I think it’s interesting to have apartments right on a strip like this because there is a lot of businesses on the strip, a lot of restaurants,” said David Carrasco, a Salinas resident.

Evans says new apartments in the Rabobank building could bring in about 80 new residents to downtown. Those people could in turn breath new life into the district, patronizing restaurants after work every day and building their lives in downtown.

“Hopefully, they’ll find jobs downtown if they don’t have them already or working for the county or the city and they’ll be walking to work,” said Evans. “It’s like an incredibly sustainable community in that way.”

A successful apartment complex in downtown could also attract investors to build more businesses along Main Street. Investors could potentially build apartments at the old Dick Bruhn building as well, which now stands all but abandoned after a huge fire.

While apartment plans for the Rabobank building are still in the preliminary stages right now, one young Salinas resident says downtown still needs something more to attract people his age to live there.

“As long as there is a longer-term plan to get businesses here that appeal to a younger audience, I think it would be a good idea,” said Nick Marquez. “It’s just right now, personally, I think if I were to live here, I don’t think I would have a whole lot of options. But there’s definitely the potential.”

Rabobank is planning to move out in the near future, after which the owners of the building will draft plans for the apartment complex.

The housing could be up and running in a couple years at least.

The City of Salinas says the average rent cost in town is about $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom unit.

The city also recently adopted an inclusionary housing ordinance, but it exempts any downtown housing from the requirements. However, the city must reevaluate this exemption in about five years.