‘Architectural marvel’ into cubicles: Here’s why Stanislaus building purchase was abandoned

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The Stanislaus Council of Governments is usually a cordial bunch when it discusses transportation funding in the county.

But things got testy when the agency considered buying a downtown Modesto building to replace its leased office space a block away.

The property at 833 Tenth Street is a noted example of Modernist architecture. It was erected in 1965 as Modesto Savings and Loan, later called World Savings and then Wachovia Bank.

Current owner Jaime Jimenez planned a high-end steakhouse that would highlight the interior’s sweeping features until COVID-19 hit. He has leased it to Dazz Event Center through December.

The StanCOG board voted 9-3 on April 17 to buy and remodel the building for about $6.6 million. No one from the public objected at the required hearing, but the Modesto Bee’s coverage stirred up critics.

They questioned the cost and whether the public had enough advance notice. They also said StanCOG should not occupy a building better suited to downtown nightlife.

“It’s a significant architectural marvel in our community,” businessman and civic leader Chris Murphy said. “... Basically, you’re all saying you’re going to fill it in with cubicles.”

He spoke to the StanCOG board Thursday, just before it voted 11-1 to cancel the purchase. Waterford Mayor Charles Goeken was the only supporter of sticking with it. He said he would welcome such an addition to his small town.

Loan had tricky approval process

The purchase fell through in part because of the type of financing. It was to be via a tax-exempt loan, meaning the lender would not pay taxes on the interest earned over the 10-year term. That allowed a lower interest rate, 4.98% compared with 6.17% from a conventional loan.

But the tax-exempt financing required approval by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors at its April 23 meeting. It deadlocked 2-2, with Vito Chiesa and Buck Condit in favor and Terry Withrow and Channce Condit against. Board Chairman Mani Grewal recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

Two days later, the StanCOG board met to consider other options for paying for its new headquarters. They included the conventional loan or paying with cash from its reserves. The board faced an April 29 deadline to close escrow on the purchase, negotiated over several months in closed sessions.

Modesto Councilman Nick Bavaro urged StanCOG to drop the deal. He said the building deserves a better use due to its location across from the Gallo Center for the Arts. He also warned that the renovation cost could inflate.

Modesto Councilman Chris Ricci said the public should have had more time to comment than allowed by the escrow deadline.

“This is exactly what bad government looks like,” he said. “... It’s a bad deal. It’s a bad use of taxpayer money.”

Ricci suggested StanCOG move to the City Towers building at 10th and H streets, where some court functions are located until the new courthouse is ready next year.

The board’s chairman this year is Ceres Mayor Javier Lopez. He said the agency worked hard to arrange the purchase.

“Bad government?” he said in response to Ricci’s comment. “Bad government is when we don’t do our due diligence.”

The board comprises all five county supervisors and one to three council members from the cities.

Pledge to protect design features

Part of the bank’s interior is a single story with high ceilings and windows. A curving staircase leads to a mezzanine with an even curvier balcony railing.

StanCOG planned to extend the balcony into a full second story, which would house some staff offices. The ground floor would have a lobby, boardroom and more offices.

Murphy is CEO of Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group, whose services include trucking. He told the board that he appreciates StanCOG’s role in transportation, but not its choice of office space. He was especially concerned about losing the mezzanine.

Lopez said that if the purchase went through, StanCOG should minimize harm to the original design, inside and out. The exterior has concrete arches and a few other metal and stone touches typical of the Modernist style.

The new bank certainly stood out 61 years ago. Downtown had Victorian houses erected soon after Modesto’s founding in 1870, including the still-standing McHenry Mansion on 15th and I. The early 20th century brought less ornate but still handsome buildings.

The Bee reported in January 1965 on the upcoming bank construction. It was expected to cost about $500,000 and was designed by the Stockton firm of Mortenson and Hollstein.

Bank Vice President Robert Alford saw the building as a refinement of Modernist style: “We wanted something fresh but not out of place, and not so much like the recent bank architecture, which has tended to be a rearrangement of rectangles. We made liberal use of the traditional curve.”

Modesto has Modernist site tour

The building is part of a self-guided tour of Modernist structures sponsored by the Modesto Art Museum.

Jimenez paid about $1.4 million for the vacant bank in 2018, much less than what StanCOG negotiated. He did substantial upgrades, removing asbestos and redoing the flooring, heating, cooling and lighting.

Jimenez did not attend either StanCOG meeting and could not be reached for comment for this story. He did talk at length in a 2019 story about the planned steakhouse.

“This building, the location and the structure of this building is phenomenal,” Jimenez said. “I love it. I love the architectural side of it, the design of it, and the people of Modesto.”

StanCOG’s current site will continue

StanCOG manages road and transit funding from state and federal sources and the county’s Measure L sales tax. It covers its operating costs, including office space, with a small fraction of the federal money.

StanCOG will remain for now in its offices at 11th and I streets, two stories up from the Fox Pub and other ground-floor businesses. Its lease runs through June 2026, with annual costs of about $130,000 for rent and $40,000 for utilities and off-site employee parking. The 6,100-square-foot space has 20 staff workstations and a boardroom.

The building purchase would have given StanCOG about 12,500 square feet of interior space and its own parking lot next door. Utility bills would have risen to about $96,000 a year. Some of the space could’ve be leased to another user until the agency needed it.

StanCOG planned to borrow about $2.5 million and use its cash reserves for the rest of the cost.