After a series of setbacks during the approval process and construction phase, Nanak Plaza, a 14,010-square-foot commercial shopping center on Mitchell Road, is nearing completion and looking for tenants.

But developer Herman Bhatti said he will be selective about which 10 businesses get to set up shop in the

L-shaped center which backs up to the Orchard Park Center.

Bhatti is hoping to get the building inspection finalized by the end of the month – hopefully before his wife delivers their second child.

No leases have yet been signed but Bhatti said he wants “something different in this plaza … that Turlock and Modesto doesn’t have and people want to come to Ceres.”

“I’m bringing two different restaurants that are different; they’re not Mexican restaurants, they’re not Italian restaurants, different types of food. If I could get a third restaurants in there that would be great. I have a third idea as well from Napa Valley.”

Other ideas are an Amazon locker room, Kumon tutoring center,

“I just don’t want no AT&T store, T-Mobile, liquor stores, smoke shops. I’m not going after those. I’m not going after the money. I want something different. I mean, look at Ceres. On every corner, everything’s storage units, gas stations. We’re the biggest ‘hey why don’t you grab coffee and gas and get the hell out.’ That’s literally what Ceres is.

He’s hoping that in a small way his center changes that up because he lives and works in Ceres. He formerly was president of Ceres Chamber of Commerce.

“I kind of want to make a difference. I mean, that’s why I was part of the Chamber. I finally have some control of what could come here, what can’t. That’s why I bought a couple more commercial properties in Ceres.”

“Now I just have landscaping left … and then I have to put in my sidewalks and order my final shell inspection.”

He said businesses are welcome to contact him for an application to lease out a suite. Herman Bhatti may be contacted by cell phone at 209-484-4641 but he prefers texts first.

“I have so many applications and a lot of people are contacting me. I can’t give them exactly the square footage and the price per square foot because I don’t have all my costs calculated yet – it has to make (financial) sense to me as well.”

Nanak Plaza has been a long time in coming. When Herman’s parents, Harry and Karen Bhatti first proposed the project over a decade ago, they wanted to place the back wall of the building on the property line shared with neighbors on Archcliffe Drive – an action that required a variance from a rear setback requirement – which was approved. The Bhattis feared that a 10-foot area behind the building would become a place for vagrants to congregate and noted that the three adjacent homeowners preferred to have the building on the property line instead of an eight-foot-high masonry block wall and a 10-foot gap between buildings. Pushing the building farther back in the lot allowed the parcel use to be maximized.

The Ceres Planning Commission approved the project in August 2015 but construction didn’t start until 2023. However, permits were not issued because the Archcliffe homeowners would not sign the easement over liability concerns.

“At the end they wanted $20,000 each for me to get this wall.”

After that issue was resolved, the second setback occurred when thieves broke into the structure, smashed glass and stole electrical breakers, causing about $30,000 in damages. Fixing the damage caused a nearly three-week delay.

Stucco work stalled when the contractor left the job and had to be replaced.

The latest hurdle was waiting nearly four months for PG&E to sign off on the connection and supply gas service, which happened last week.

Bhatti expects to battle the city over his quest to build a monument sign that is taller than the maximum height of six feet set by the city municipal code. He claims Mitchell Road is replete with monument signs taller than six feet.

“I built a nice building here and I want to be able to advertise and this is a heavy traffic area. Six feet as tall as me … nobody’s going to be able to see all the business names on the six feet. I want this taller monument sign – not too tall – but enough where people could see. And it’s a lit-up sign that’s going to cost me about $10,000.”

He has applied for a conditional use permit but also wants to see the city change the municipal code relating to sign height.