Executives of Shoe Palace announced today that the company will be moving into its new headquarters in Morgan Hill by this summer.
The new building at 755 Jarvis Drive has been under construction since late 2019. The building is a 503,400-square-foot facility that includes 65,000 square feet of office space, according to a press release from Shoe Palace.
“We are excited to continue to serve and support our Morgan Hill facility and utilize the new building for what it was intended and designed,” said George Mersho, CEO of Shoe Palace. “We could not imagine being a part of a better community. We look forward to getting more involved and engaged with Morgan Hill.”
The new Shoe Palace building, which parallels the southbound side of the U.S. 101 freeway in north Morgan Hill, has been a cause of angst among the public—and even city officials—who have been concerned about the future use of the development.
The project came up many times during a discussion of the Morgan Hill Responsible Growth Initiative at the March 3 city council meeting. Planning Director Jennifer Carman said Shoe Palace’s operations statement for the Jarvis Drive site states the building will be used for the company’s corporate headquarters, including manufacturing and warehousing. The operations statement also limits the number of weekly truck trips in and out of the property.
An environmental analysis of the project was completed before construction began, Carman added.
In November, the council approved an ordinance that would require any project 75,000 square feet in size or larger to face a public hearing prior to approval.
“This is welcome news,” City Manager Christina Turner said of Shoe Palace’s March 9 statement. “There was uncertainty and, to some extent, anxiety in the community about the future of the new building, and we are pleased to see it will be fully utilized by Shoe Palace as originally planned.”
Shoe Palace’s coming move into the Jarvis Drive building was facilitated by the recent acquisition of Shoe Palace by JD Sports Fashion, says Shoe Palace’s press release. On Dec. 14, JD Sports Fashion’s intermediate holding company, Genesis Holdings Inc, acquired 100 percent of shares in the Shoe Palace Corporation and its members’ interests in Nice Kicks LLC.
Shoe Palace was established in 1993 by the Mersho family. Four brothers from the Mersho family continue to operate Shoe Palace, which has 170 stores throughout the U.S. Most stores are located in California, with additional retail presence in Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Hawaii.
