SOLEDAD — Los Coches Adobe property may be in for some construction as the City of Soledad entered into a memorandum of understanding with Don Chapin on July 11.
The area site that Chapin would be working on is 9.7 acres and is right off the Arroyo Seco exit when traveling south from Soledad.
“I came up with this vision a number of years ago to take this piece of property and transform it into recreational vehicle park and visitor’s spot,” Chapin said. “Its location is probably perfect for an application towards the wine trail and the Pinnacles.”
Chapin is looking at the area to be a spot for RV drivers and eventually renovate the Adobe to serve as a Visitor’s Serving Center. Chapin and his team are planning to have a site plan within three months and then move onto the approval process.
The estimated time for the project is 18 months.
“The hope here is to have a development that will help support our economic development goals, tourism goals, and do something to renovate the Adobe to make it available to the public,” said Community and Economic Development Director Brent Slama. “The funding for that has been really hard to come by.”
The project has been delayed because of sewer and water lines that would have to go under the bridge and all the way to the Adobe property.
Part of the memorandum is that Chapin would build those utilities and be reimbursed through future city tax revenue.
The estimated cost for the utility is about $2 million.
