20 hours Ago By Molly Myers
CHICO — After years of construction delays, David Halimi is making progress on one of his downtown buildings.The building, located at Main and East Second streets, has been a longstanding point of contention between Halimi and city officials. In 2019, Halimi began construction on the top floor doing an exploratory demo, opening the outer walls and creating space for windows of apartments he planned to build.
However, due to what he said were initially delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project stalled.Since 2019, these large rectangular openings on the building were boarded up and later reopened, but no substantial progress toward completion was made until this year. Halimi said he struggled to get an encroachment permit, which he needed to work on the building from the sidewalk.
David Halimi oversees construction at his downtown building located at Main and Second Streets in Chico, California on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)“I always had this vision of restoring that building to the way it looked with those beautiful, tall windows, and then take the opportunity to bring some downtown housing,” he said. “Because I’m a firm believer that downtowns that have people who walk the streets, look into the windows, are more successful and safer.
”This month, construction began again as Halimi finally acquired the encroachment permit through his brother’s contracting business and oversaw the installation of metal balconies and window frames. He’s waiting on bids from two companies for custom windowpanes, which he plans to install in July.Originally, he acquired an Owner-Builder permit, thinking he could complete the project without hiring a contractor.
Through the Owner-Builder permit, Halimi said he should have been able to get an encroachment permit on his own. Charlene Durkin, city Code Enforcement officer, said this was not the case.Because of a lack of progress on the building, the city made a change in enforcement code 1.
14.030 and began fining Halimi for nuisance violations, Durkin said. She added that this code needed to be updated, and Halimi’s building was one of several reasons for the change.
Documents Halimi shared with this newspaper show what appear to be daily code violation fines of $100 he incurred starting Jan. 21. Halimi has the ability to contest the fines in court if he chooses to, Durkin said.
Durkin declined to give details on the fines but said now that Halimi has resumed construction the fines have stopped accumulating.“He’s making the progress that he needs to make,” Durkin said. “So we’re very happy with that.
”Back and forthThis process frustrated Halimi, who said he started incurring fines while he was actively in the process of getting his encroachment permit. That process usually takes two weeks max, said Public Works Engineering Director Brendan Ottoboni.Finding a contractor proved difficult because the project was already underway.
Halimi said the only contractor willing to take the job quoted him a $20,000 fee, which Halimi found unreasonable. This led him to ask his brother from Sacramento, a licensed contractor, to set up shop in Chico so he could contract through him.Waiting for his brother to relocate his business to Chico created even further delays.
“It’s a very unfair position to be put in, but since I love this city and wasn’t looking for any trouble, I did what I could,” Halimi said. “..
. I’d like to give everyone a tour of $40,000 worth of balconies and window frames sitting in my parking lot for three months.”An architectural rendering shows what David Halimi’s downtown building located at Main and Second Streets will look like when complete, in Chico, California on Friday, April 25, 2025.
(Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)In July 2024, the Chico City Council directed city staff to assess potential danger at Halimi’s building. Then Mayor Andrew Coolidge expressed concern that this building was hazardous and compared it to the Hotel Marysville, which was destroyed in a fire in 2024. A report from Community Development Director Brendan Vieg found “no imminent danger posed by the building.
”“The property owner has experienced delays in procuring supplies and labor, which have been confirmed by Code Enforcement staff,” the report further stated. “According to the property owner, completion of the exterior of the building is a high priority.”Related ArticlesKraft Heinz lowers sales outlook for the year, weighed down by consumer uncertainty and tariffsStarbucks’ new drive-thru in Texas is the coffee giant’s first 3D printed store in the USHow to avoid credit card late fees after a court threw out a proposed capCoca-Cola reports better-than-expected quarterly profit, says it can manage through tariffsGM posts strong Q1 results, but will reassess expectations for 2025 due to auto tariffsHalimi felt unfairly targeted by Coolidge and said he believed Coolidge singled him out because he fired Coolidge’s girlfriend Lynda Gizzi from the Downtown Chico Business Association.
While working for the DCBA, Gizzi was tasked with securing sponsors for the downtown ice rink. Halimi said she failed to secure enough sponsors or report to him promptly, so he had to let her go.Coolidge, for his part, said that assertion was “crazy.
” Coolidge said Gizzi did her job at the DCBA and was not fired, but that her contract expired.“I don’t have any personal problem with David Halimi,” Coolidge said. “I don’t have any qualms with the guy whatsoever, except for the condition in which he keeps his buildings.
”Councilor Tom van Overbeek said he had “mixed feelings” on the situation and that he felt for Halimi on a human level. Ultimately, however, van Overbeek said Halimi failed to manage the remodeling of the building responsibly.“The city kept getting promises that weren’t being met, excuses and stories,” Overbeek said.
ProjectHalimi is aiming to restore the building to its original appearance. Restoring buildings is something he is passionate about, but going through this struggle with the city left him disheartened.Instead, he is considering finishing the outside and leaving it be.
Having created various businesses in downtown over the years, Halimi said he feels the city should offer him more grace and understanding.Construction progresses at David Halimi’s downtown building located at Main and Second Streets in Chico, California on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record)“I’m invested in downtown emotionally and financially,” Halimi said.
The project as planned would offer 12 apartment units. Eleven of them would be studio lofts, and one of them would be a two-bedroom.“I love downtown, and I have done my part to beautify it,” Halimi said.
“I mean, you can look at some of my projects.”He pointed to his various establishments: Cheers Chico, Mezze Moon and Diamond W Western Wear.“It’s important to me,” Halimi said about revitalizing downtown.
“But again, when you look around, you got spaces on Main Street that are boarded up, much more prominent things. They don’t do anything about those, but they got their finger on me.”David Halimi sits on a newly installed balcony at his downtown building located at Main and Second Streets in Chico, California on Friday, April 25, 2025.
(Molly Myers/Enterprise-Record).
