Newman residents could expect to see a commercial shopping center in the city in the near future after its planning commission board approved the project’s site plan on Sept.18.

Located at the southernmost side of Newman and near Highway 33, the 107,000 square foot site will have seven buildings. Of the seven buildings, four will be stand-alone dining spaces with two having a drive-thru and the other two being a full-service restaurant.

Additionally, there will be two large multi-tenant buildings, located on the west side of the shopping center, offering six tenant spaces. The size of each building will range from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet. There has not been a decision of what the remaining building will occupy. According to the meeting document, the building will be 15,000 square feet and could be a retail store, office space or medical or veterinary clinics.

The shopping center will have four entrances, two from Highway 33 and two from the Mattos Drive extension. If Mattos Drive is not extended and connected to Highway 33, the developer will be responsible for constructing the extension and connection to the highway. 

540 parking spaces are proposed for the area with 440 required. Newman City Manager Michael Holland said there could be around 108 trees planted throughout the site, with one per five parking spaces.

The project is a part of Mattos Ranch Subdivision Phase 2, which was certified by Newman City Council last year.

Shopping center raises questions from Newman Planning Commission board members

The site’s map showed an extra dining space with a drive-thru located at the southwest of the shopping center. The dining space is shown to be located near some of the homes at Rolling Hills Apartments. Planning Commission Board Member Donald Harmon questioned the decision of having the dining space near the residential complex.

Kari Thompson, another planning commission board member, asked whether the entire shopping center will belong to Stanislaus County. She was referring to the upper east side of the proposed shopping center map, one of the dining spaces and the 15,000 square foot building are located in Merced County while the rest of the shopping center’s buildings are in Stanislaus County. Holland in response said city staff will ensure that both buildings will be in Stanislaus County

“In this particular case, we'll make sure that the buildings stay over here and just make it nice and clean,” he said. “And we’ll get all the property tax and sales tax.”

Holland added that he anticipates the area having traffic lights as city staff is pushing for the idea. He added that the city has the materials to build it but are waiting for Caltrans’ approval.

Thompson also asked about whether the Highway 33 speed limit will change with the addition of the shopping center. The current speed limit on Highway 33 is 55 mph. In response to Thompson, Holland said it’s up to Caltrans to decide whether to change the speed limit.

The Newman City Council will take up the matter of the proposed shopping center at a later date.