Turlock residents driving along Countryside Drive may have noticed the assemblage of buildings that are being constructed as part of the latest Monte Vista Crossings expansion. The final phases of development, Monte Vista Crossings South and Countryside at Tuolumne, will make local shoppers happy as over 80,000 square feet of retail will be added to the space.

Hall Equities is spearheading the new development, and since 2000 has brought over 1.4 million square feet of retail and hospitality space to Turlock. The organization has overseen the construction of the rest of the Monte Vista Crossings shopping center, as well as the expansion of the Turlock Cinema Center that took place in 2005 and brought Tractor Supply Company to the city.

Upon completion, Monte Vista Crossings South will bring a variety of new retailers to the city totaling over 65,000 square feet, including Petco, Rack Room Shoes, rue21 and F21 Red. In addition, the Countryside at Tuolumne construction will feature up to 15,000 square feet of retailers, a sit-down restaurant or a drive-thru. Hall Equities was unable to be reached in regards to what retailers or restaurants would be built as part of the Countryside at Tuolumne expansion.

Petco, which many Valley dwellers are familiar with, is a privately held pet retailer which sells both pets as well as pets products and services. Though the shopping center already is host to a pet store in Pet Extreme, Petco will provide shoppers with the opportunity to adopt pets via their Petco Foundation.

Rack Room Shoes is a footwear chain that offers a wide range of brand-name shoes for men, women and children, as well as accessories. Popular brands that can be found at Rack Room Shoes include Nike, Vans and Rainbow.

The specialty discount retailer rue21 caters to young men and women. The store sells a wide variety of casual apparel and accessories, and also has a plus size line.

While most are familiar with Forever 21, the trendy chain store that offers styles for young men and women, some may not know about their new concept store, F21 Red. While Forever 21 is known for its inexpensive prices, F21 Red slashes prices even more, offering a clothing brand directed at all ages at reasonable prices. The Monte Vista Crossings location will be just the third F21 Red store in California, which began with its flagship opening in Los Angeles last May.

Associate City Planner for the City of Turlock Adrienne Werner believes that the Monte Vista Crossings expansion will be valuable to the city.

“I think the city is going to benefit from the expansion,” said Werner. “It’s a positive thing. The expansion will draw more people and money into the city.”