Opinion: American Canyon was not built in a day
Before incorporation in 1992, there were few opportunities for the 7000 people to shop or take advantage of what was being offered in American Canyon.
There was Lawson’s Market on Highway 29 (next to Navajo Rug) and there was Broadway Market and Pizza Place on the corner of Poco Way and Highway 29. There was a 7-11 on Rio Del Mar and a Pizza Place which is now Perry’s Pizza on American Canyon Road. In addition, there was Mid-City Nursery on Highway 29. Not much else existed for the residents of the city to shop or get something to eat.
Meet Rick Hess. In 2000, a young man, Rick, who had been developing in Napa for 20 years, had a vision for American Canyon. He purchased 2.5 acres to the north from a gentleman farmer and purchased 2.5 acres to the south from the City of American Canyon, for a total of 5 acres on the west side of Highway 29. His vision was to establish a shopping center where people could buy whatever they needed.
As it turned out, when he developed the shopping center which is now Canyon Plaza One, he found that the tenants that wanted to move into the shopping center were not retail; they were mostly service opportunities: dentists, barbershops, clinics and much more. He had to rethink what he wanted in that shopping center but it was clear that the community wanted services. He set out to get more tenants offering services than retail in the Canyon Plaza One.
In 2002, Hess developed Canyon Plaza Two that lined Crawford Way and 29. This shopping center again started to fill up with service providers. Rick put a lot of thought into what else the community needed, and he decided the community needed a veterinarian. He sent out 50 letters to a variety of veterinarians, and got absolutely no response. He continued to develop the area for Canyon Plaza Two as he continued to search for those who wanted to provide services to this community.
After he finished with Canyon Plaza One and Two, he bought property on the corner of American Canyon Road and Highway 29. In 2005, he began development of Canyon Corners. Surprisingly, when he was building that shopping center a veterinary doctor, Dr. Singh, contacted him and thought that the corner property was a good place for a veterinary hospital and for the community.
In accordance with what was going on in Canyon Plaza One and Two, Canyon Corners also began to fill up with services. There was a fitness center, dentist, a Montessori school, a Mexican restaurant, a Day Spa and more. Canyon Plaza today has four restaurants, a spa, the veterinary hospital and other services.
Rick Hess’s vision for American Canyon was the first construction of a shopping center to serve the increase in the population of American Canyon. In 2003, an outside developer began constructing the Safeway shopping center.
It was not easy in the beginning to find the right tenants for what the community needed, but basically the tenants themselves were the ones who decided what would go into each shopping center. There are some retail opportunities, but retail is only 20% and service providers are 80%. It does take a vision to be able to develop what the community needs and Rick had that vision. All in all, he has about 70 tenants.
Rick Hess prides himself on being an on-site landlord for his tenants, some who have been his tenants for 25 years. He and his son Tyler continue to serve his tenants as a concerned landlord. The have an open-door policy so that they can be available to any of their tenants for whatever they need. It was not easy for him in 2020, when the pandemic hit, because many of his tenants just did not have the ability to pay their rent. Rick was able to work through that time with his tenants, which says a lot for the management of both Canyon Plaza One and Two and Canyon Corners.
Rick Hess is to be congratulated for his vision, concern, and care for the residents of American Canyon. I am sure he is not finished with his construction projects in American Canyon. Who knows what the next project will be, but I am sure there will be more to come. Thank you, Rick Hess.
