“Name that Year” is designed to put your knowledge of Tracy and its newsmakers of the past to the test. Each week, we will publish a news item that ran in a past edition — maybe it was a major event, or a story about a Tracy resident — it’s up to you to determine in what year that particular news item hit the pages of the paper:
• NEW OWNERS ARE PLANNING MAJOR RENOVATIONS AT THE FORMER COZY GROVE MOTEL IN TRACY THIS YEAR. A family partnership headed by Meredith Triviski of Lakeville bought the 26-unit motel on Jan, 16. Efforts have begun to work out the remodeling details.
“Every room will be gone over,” said Roger Sax, a representative for the buyers.
The Hwy. 14 motel, which is being renamed the Wilder Inn, will remain open during construction. No completion date has been targeted, although Sax said he would like to have “as many rooms as possible” done in time for an April 11-12 sportsmen’s show in Tracy.
The former owners, JoAnne and Kelly Burridge, are staying on for a few weeks to help with the transition. The motherdaughter team has operated the Cozy Grove since 1991.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” said Joanne Burridge “It’s been interesting and I’ve met a lot of nice people.” In her years at the motel, she said she’s encountered only two people she hasn’t liked. In the motel business, she noted, getting along with people goes with the territory.
The renovations will involve the replacement of most furnishings and new bathrooms. Other improvements will include some new entrances, new insulation and weather stripping, new windows, removal of some paneling, new Sheetrock where needed on walls and ceilings, and signage.
“We intend to buy as much of our materials as possible right here in Tracy,” Sax said.
Construction will be done in phases, so that a block of rooms will remain open at all times.
• Last week’s answer: A “Taco Bell Express” was schededuled to debut in Tracy in 1997.
