Approval for Whitmore Towers, the proposed 7,280-square-foot retail building focused on eating establishments on the 1.13-acre island at the corner of Whitmore and Central avenues, was kept current for another two years following last week’s Ceres Planning Commission meeting. But the applicant is trying to sell the property in the hopes that somebody else develops it.

Real estate agent Renee Ledbetter is working to find a buyer for the project. Zoned Highway Commercial, the property is listed for $1.675 million. Any buyer may move forward with the approved project or start over with new plans which would have to be reviewed and approved by the city.

The project was proposed by developer Anthony Nowaid of the Calabasas based Metro Investment in 2019. He won city approval for the project opposite Ceres High School but it didn’t develop, partly because the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021 and the difficulties in finding tenants. The company has also been detracted by difficulties faced in trying to remove the non-conforming use trailer park from part of their property to the west. State renter laws have complicated owners’ efforts to clear the tenants and squatters on the property, said Ledbetter. 

Last week the commission voted 5-0 to extend conditional use permit.

As approved, the building is proposed to be divided into three separate food-oriented tenant spaces with two outdoor seating areas – one on the roof – and a foyer that would accommodate the customers of those restaurant users. As proposed, one 4,300-square-foot sit-down restaurant would be created, along with a 1,200-square-foot fast-food restaurant, and a 1,200-square-foot ice cream shop. The project was proposed with a conditional use permit process that leaves the door open for a restaurant to serve alcoholic beverages.