Soledad seeks to transform Front Street to attract new businesses to downtown.

The city of Soledad is undergoing a transformation. One change is a 647-acre annexation, which includes the planned Miramonte project. This housing development could mean over 2,300 new homes to the north of the city’s current footprint. But in the core of Soledad’s existing downtown, city officials are working on a concept to create a village of shipping containers on Front Street.

Soledad owns several parcels, totaling about three-quarters of an acre, that are long and narrow, which makes them unappealing for housing developers; however, these parcels, located along the commercial corridor near Cesar Chavez Park between Soledad and Kidder streets, are ideal for commercial use.

This project aims to provide locals with more options and keep tax dollars within city limits. Many residents travel to Salinas or the Monterey Peninsula to purchase goods and services.

“South Monterey County deserves a place to get a beer, a glass of wine, to go to a little concert,” says Bryan Swanson, Soledad’s community and economic development director.

In recent years, the city has attracted new businesses including Premiere Cinemas and Grocery Outlet; now, they are focusing on the hospitality industry. The container village would host city-sponsored events and festivals, and planners hope it would attract new businesses, preferably local. (As one example of a successful container business, Fieldwork Brewing Company’s downtown Monterey location is made of shipping containers.)

The spark for the container village started two years ago during an economic development workshop followed by surveys to determine what residents were looking for. On April 19, Soledad City Council and the Planning Commission reviewed three container village options for revitalizing city-owned downtown properties presented by ELS Architects. They chose the mid-sized village option.

A village of about a dozen containers would cost up to $10 million and include space for restaurants, drinks, retail and an outdoor stage. Another component the city is considering is a community kitchen similar to El Pájaro Community Development Corporation’s commercial kitchen incubator for emerging food entrepreneurs.

City staff are working on a dossier they will share with potential investors and tenants. They are looking for an anchor business, such as a brewery or winery. “There’s a ton of market here that’s being missed, that we feel would be advantageous for a brewery in our region to establish a second location,” Swanson says.

Corrections: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the consultant's name. It is ELS Architects, not ESL. In addition, this story has been clarified to reflect that all three options discussed were for container villages.