LRE & Companies Breaks Ground on Abbott & Blanco Retail Development in Salinas, California
We finally broke ground on our Abbott & Blanco project in Salinas. This one took persistence and creativity.
The project began with multiple parcels rather than a single, unified development site. We needed to assemble three separate parcels and design a modern retail site, addressing access, circulation, entitlements, and site planning throughout the process.
That reflects our approach to development at LRE. Often, our most successful projects don’t begin with an ideal parcel; they begin by determining how to create one.
At Abbott & Blanco, this involved assembling the components, navigating a challenging entitlement process, and shaping an opportunity that might not have been possible otherwise.
The project highlights an important lesson in retail real estate: rooftops alone don’t tell the full story. Retailers typically consider population data at 1-, 3-, and 5-mile radii. At Abbott & Blanco, historical data showed about 6,500 residents within one mile, yet over 10,000 employees in that same area.
Historical traffic counts indicated approximately 25,000 vehicles daily on Abbott Street and a similar number on Blanco Road. Abbott serves as a key corridor for Salinas’ agricultural and industrial jobs. Many workers in this area begin their shifts very early, with some starting as early as 5:00 or 6:00 AM.
These workers still require coffee, breakfast, lunch, fuel, groceries, banking, pharmacy, and daily conveniences. They generate retail demand whether their homes are within the one-mile demographic radius.
A new Amazon fulfillment center of about 3.2 million square feet is under construction nearby and is expected to create around 1,600 jobs. Salinas already stands out as a key retail hub, with annual retail sales reaching approximately $3.1 billion.
- Our key lesson: Focus beyond rooftops.
- Count the workers present.
- Analyze traffic patterns.
- Observe shift changes.
- Identify where people spend their day.
- Sometimes, you need to establish the site first to create an opportunity.
That is what Abbott & Blanco represents for us.
We’re thrilled to be finally starting construction and proud of the creativity and persistence that made it possible.
LRE & Companies | Salinas, California