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The old Spreckels refinery employed generations of Mantecans before the plant was razed in 1997 and its smelly ponds were buried.

But a business center that replaced the refinery created 715 jobs this year, three times the former sugar processing work force.

Today, residents also flock to the center for groceries, sprinkler heads, and breakfast at the International House of Pancakes.

The Spreckels Park center has given local leaders confidence the city can shed its "bedroom community" label.

"Before, we didn't have any marketable industrial land," City Councilman Willie Weatherford said. "I would not be surprised to see it sold out this time next year."

Some tears were shed when the Spreckels silos were blasted in early 1997. But the surging economy and the location near the junction of highways 99 and 120 made the 360 acres ripe for new commerce.

Stockton-based Atherton-Kirk Development, which purchased the site, quickly won city approval for a diverse plan to replace the refinery. The plan included 177 homes, 65 acres of retail and a big swath for clean industry.

The developer soon proved its hunch was right. Within 18 months, Frito Lay opened a distribution center. That was followed by these additions in the past year:

Food-4-Less, Home Depot, International House of Pancakes, a service station and several shops opened for business on the northern part of the center. Coming soon: Staples and an Applebee's restaurant.

Hunsaker Investments of Irvine put finishing touches on a 250,000 square-foot warehouse and a 550,000 square-foot structure, both built on speculation on the south part of the center.

Also, APD Packaging put 250 to work packaging goods for Costco stores. Simpson Strong-Tie announced plans to make prefabricated walls for the building trade and, last week week, Texwood Industries signed a lease to make kitchen cabinets.

No one has tracked how many former Spreckels employees have gone to work in the center. But Home Depot manager Lee Blankenship said he does know that 70 percent of the store's 140 employees are locals.

"Anytime we open a new store we want to get the community involved, and what better way than to hire the residents," he said.

In one disappointment, the past year saw a proposal from an online company fizzle. PurpleTie.com decided last month to scuttle plans for a major dry-cleaning facility at Spreckels Park.

The service, which offers pick-up and delivery for people placing orders on the Web, is sending clothes to existing dry cleaners in the Bay Area. It had intended to employ 350 in Manteca.

"We didn't see ourselves moving into that facility for six to 12 months, and to spend money on a lease we were not using was not prudent," said company president Payam Zamani, a Modesto Junior College graduate.

Zamani said "it's a matter of time" before business increases to justify the facility and he said the company is still looking at Manteca.

The city of Manteca made its own investment in Spreckels Park -- a $4.5 million public improvements loan -- and expects it to pay off.

With each new building, the city Redevelopment Agency captures the increase in property tax and officials expect a surge in sales tax that can be spent on public services.

"For a city (of 47,000) we have lagged behind in sales tax," said Nick Stavrianoudakis, a city economic development specialist.

"For a city our size, we were not doing what comparable cities are doing. But we are catching up now."

While residents seem to like the changes, some see a missed opportunity.

Many of the jobs pay $10 to $12 an hour. And the business park isn't suited for the high-technology firms now looking at the San Joaquin Valley.

Others feel the site was perfect for a regional shopping center.

"This would be a beautiful place for a mall," Manteca resident Dorothy Cultrera said while loading her car in the Home Depot parking lot. "We have to go to Modesto, Tracy and Stockton to buy most things, and Manteca is getting big enough where it will need a mall."
City officials respond that the center provides a mix of jobs, housing and retail rarely seen in cities.

Because of recent interest from computer firms, the city is refining plans for a business campus south of the 120 bypass near Oakwood Lake Resort.

"When the (Spreckels) land became available, the market was for distribution and warehouse operations," Stavrianoudakis said. "Only recently has there been interest from electronics (firms). We really could not wait on what-ifs."

Manteca resident Patti Perry, who sells chocolate and wildlife goods in the center, said Spreckels Park is good for her business. And she doesn't miss the odors of the old Spreckels refinery and farm.

"You hate to see the small town go, but that's what happens in California," she said.