Santa Rosa: Infrastructure and Urban Planning

[kylenelson]

Originally Posted by Mike155294

In everyone's opinion, when the economy has picked back up, how tall do you think is appropriate for downtown SR? I say 18 then tapering off as you leave the square. Thoughts?

I think 18-20 stories is appropriate but i dont think it is very tangible for Santa Rosa. I agree i think we will have a hard time seeing it tampering off at 150ft first.

Do you think there is interest from developers and companies to have high-rises in Santa Rosa?
I would love to see it, after the museum project is done it should have a neat mini skyline

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa considers bold plan to remake Coddingtown area

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A bold plan to encourage higher density housing near the future commuter rail station near Coddingtown mall is winning praise for its embrace of sustainable development principles but also criticism from some worried about its impact on their private property rights.

The city is putting the finishing touches on its North Santa Rosa Station Area Specific Plan, a $500,000 guide for the development of the half-mile around the future SMART station on Guerneville Road.

The plan calls for sweeping changes to the 987-acre area that by 2035 would make it almost unrecognizable from its current automobile-centric suburban landscape.

“It's going to be a great transformation for that part of Santa Rosa,” Gary Helfrich, executive director of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition, told the commission.

The plan envisions 2,941 new housing units, more than a million square feet of office, retail and industrial space, and the creation of nearly 6,000 new jobs in the area around the mall, extending south to West College Avenue and east of Highway 101 to include the Santa Rosa Junior College.

The plan would rezone 1,300 parcels to allow higher density housing, including apartment buildings of up to five-stories with 40 units per acre. A similar “transit village” environment has been proposed for the area around the SMART station planned for Railroad Square.

The idea is to get more people living in an around the train stations to support ridership, and also to build the infrastructure that will make it easy for people to get to the station by bicycle, foot and car.

Several bicycle and pedestrian paths are proposed, including a bridge to span Highway 101. SMART also is proposing 350 parking spaces at the station...

full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...ddingtown-area

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa's 'Museum on the Square' facing another setback

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The plan to turn a city-owned eyesore into a mixed-use downtown tower faces yet another setback.

The Museum on the Square project proposed for the long-vacant former AT&T building on Old Courthouse Square will need another six-month extension from the city to give the much-anticipated deal more time to close escrow.

If approved by the City Council, it would be the third extension granted for the $1.9 million sale agreement between the city and the project's developer, The Hugh Futrell Corp.

The sale had been on track to close in April, but questions raised by the title company have held up financing for the project, David Gouin, the city's director of economic development and housing, told the City Council on Thursday.

The city's redevelopment agency purchased the five-story concrete structure in 2007 for $3 million with an eye toward finding a developer to revitalize the space.

The board in 2010 selected a development team headed by Futrell, which proposed transforming the windowless bunker into a 10-story glass-clad tower with space for the Sonoma County Museum and a restaurant on the first floor, four stories for offices, and five new floors of luxury apartments...

full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...delayed-again-

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Steel work complete at future Sutter hospital in Santa Rosa

By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 3:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 3:56 p.m.

A crowd of health care employees, construction workers and county officials watched Thursday as a 70-ton crane lifted a white 12-foot-long steel beam into place at the future Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa.

Two construction workers soon bolted down the 400-pound beam, completing the steel frame for the $284 million facility.

Mike Cohill, president of Sutter Health’s West Bay region, called the completion of the steel work a “significant milestone” for the future hospital.

Cohill recalled that in 1996 Sutter made a commitment to provide health care as part of its lease and takeover of the old county-run Community Hospital.

“This new hospital really memorializes that commitment,” he said.

Since the signing of the agreement 16 years ago, Sutter has provided $250 million in charity care to county residents, Cohill told an audience sitting beneath a white pavilion.

Much work remains for the two-story 184,000-square-foot hospital. The facility isn’t slated to open until October 2014.

The steel workers began construction in January and soon will be departing the job site, said Matt McEuen, project manager for the steel installer, California Erectors of Benecia.

When completed, the hospital will include 82 beds, all in private rooms, plus 24 more beds in an outpatient, universal care unit.

It will be among the top 1 percent of California hospitals in terms of green construction, Sutter officials said.

The project’s general contractor, Unger Construction of Sacramento, provided the following facts about the materials already in place:

— Workers have poured 16,500 cubic yards of concrete, enough for a sidewalk extending from Santa Rosa to the San Francisco International Airport.

— The hospital contains 1,850 tons of structural steel, equal to 1.8 billion paper clips, enough to chain together and wrap around the equator.

— Workers have used 820 tons of reinforcing steel, or rebar, which if laid end to end would stretch from Santa Rosa to Bakersfield.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...-in-Santa-Rosa

From the construction Cam
http://www.suttersantarosa.org/newhospital/index.html





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[kylenelson]

Originally Posted by ElDudarinodotcom

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...-in-Santa-Rosa

From the construction Cam
http://www.suttersantarosa.org/newhospital/index.html





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Passed by their yesterday and they sure have got quite a bit to go but looks great! It will compliment the area very much!

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Originally Posted by kylenelson

Passed by their yesterday and they sure have got quite a bit to go but looks great! It will compliment the area very much!

Yeah. Hopefully the finishings look nice.

Santa Rosa gets $2 million donation for Finley Center expansion

Kent Porter / PD, 2011
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 5:41 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 5:41 p.m.

The seniors wing of Santa Rosa’s Finley Community Center got another big boost Thursday with the announcement of a $2 million donation, enough to ensure nearly all features of the new building can be completed.

The commitment from the Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation allows the third and final phase of the $8 million project to move forward with the installation of an elevator and construction of second-story rooms for art, reading, computers and meetings.

The donation is on top of the $1.5 million gift from the foundation last year. The foundation is named in honor of former Press Democrat owner and publisher Ernest L. Finley and his wife, whose heirs, including former publisher Evert Person, sold the paper in 1985.

“Because of the Finley Foundation’s generosity, Santa Rosa seniors will soon have a new home away from home,” said Carolina Spence, executive director of Seniors, Inc., the nonprofit group that has been raising money for the center since 2002.

The new center is a public-private partnership between the city and Seniors Inc. The city donated the land for the project and has spent about $3.5 million in park development fees on it. Seniors Inc. has coordinated the private sector donations, including chili cook-offs, in-kind donations from architecture firm Simons & Woodard, and gifts from wealthy individuals and foundations.

The 25,000-square-foot wing is being added to the southern side of the Finley Community Center on West College Avenue. The construction of the multi-use center, park and aquatics center were also made possible by a $7 million gift from the foundation...

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...nter-expansion

[ElDudarinodotcom]

New funding propels downtown Santa Rosa affordable housing
52-unit, five-story project to cost $12.8 million
By Eric Gneckow, Business Journal Staff Reporter
Monday, August 6, 2012, 6:55 am



SANTA ROSA — Construction of a 52-unit, $12.8 million affordable housing and commercial project in Downtown Santa Rosa is expected to go forward this September, funded by new financing after project developers were unable to obtain highly sought-after affordable housing funds to begin construction shortly after the project’s approval in 2010.

On the corner of Seventh and Humboldt Streets, the five-story project, a partnership between Santa Rosa’s Hugh Futrell Corp. and Community Housing Sonoma County NPR, LLC, will feature commercial space on its ground floor and offer 51 one-, two- and three-bedroom units to low-income tenants, according to Hugh Futrell. The final unit will be for the building manager.

Funding for the project includes $3.1 million from the city of Santa Rosa, a $6.4 million tax-exempt bond authorized by the city and held by Citibank, and $3.3 million in tax credit equity investment dollars from an affiliate of PNC Bank. The owner of the development is Humboldt Apartments L.P., whose general partner is an affiliate of Hugh Futrell, said the company’s CEO of the same name.

“Throughout this onerous process, the city of Santa Rosa has been extremely helpful,” said Mr. Futrell, noting the unsuccessful effort to obtain Multifamily Housing and other funding from the state.

The project, which is expected to begin taking applications in June of 2013, will be open to individuals making between 50-60 percent of the area median income, with rent ranging from $700 to $1,100 after utilities, Mr. Futrell said.

The affordability of the project will be maintained for 55 years and available to tenants of all ages, said Marjorie Jackson, affordable housing program specialist for the city of Santa Rosa.

“The more households you have within walking distance of the downtown, the more of an economic impact you’ll have in the downtown area,” she said.

The Santa Rosa City Council approved the tax-exempt bond to fund the project last week.

Burbank Housing Development Corporation was originally announced as co-general contractor and co-developer of the project in 2010, but discontinued its involvement after the unsuccessful attempt to obtain a deferred payment loan through the state’s Multifamily Housing Program. While the project still serves low-income families, the lack of funds required that tenants be admitted with income levels higher than Burbank Housing targets in its developments, said Pascal Sisich, director of housing development.

Burbank housing remains a strong supporter of the project, said Mr. Sisich.

“It’s definitely something to celebrate,” he said.

The project will include a community room, second-story courtyard and private parking, and is a short walk from Santa Rosa’s downtown core, transit hub and the passenger rail station planned for railroad square . The architect is Healdsburg’s Jon Worden.

Construction is expected to last one year, Mr. Futrell said. A former county building on the site will be demolished.

http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.c...dable-housing/
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[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa council gives boost to southeast greenway
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 9:13 p.m.

Supporters of plans to acquire a 2-mile swath of vacant land once eyed for a highway and transform into an urban park cheered a move by the Santa Rosa City Council supporting their efforts Tuesday.

The city will ask that 50 acres of land once eyed for the extension of Highway 12 over what is now Spring Lake Regional Park instead be set aside for bicycles, pedestrians, parks, gardens, public places, environmental restoration, and limited development.

The council agreed to send a letter to Caltrans requesting the state agency consider “alternative non-motorized uses” for the 300-feet wide strip of unused right-of-way running from Farmers Lane to Summerfield Road in its upcoming review of Highway 12 between Napa and Sonoma counties.

That would set the stage for the agency to declare the property surplus, which would allow it to sell or transfer the land to another agency or non-profit.

The council's action, while a modest one, was nevertheless historic, said Steve Rabinowitsh, a member of the Southeast Greenway Committee.

“For the first time residents of Santa Rosa are going to begin to take back a property that was going to be a highway and make it a piece of land that we can all appreciate and use,” Rabinowitsh said.

Dozens of supporters wearing green outfits to the council meeting applauded the decision.

Some noted that the greenway could prove a vital east-west link for bicyclists, while others stressed it could connect neighborhoods to nature, especially the trio of parks - Howarth Park, Spring Lake park and Annadel State Park — just to the east...

full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...nway-proposal-

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Here is the area that article is discussing



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[ElDudarinodotcom]

Downtown Santa Rosa building demolished for low-cost housing

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 4:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 8:52 a.m.

Workers using heavy machinery began demolishing an aging Humboldt Street office building this week to make way for a five-story structure with low-income apartments above commercial space.

Construction on what will be one of the largest new buildings in Santa Rosa in several years is expected to get under way later this month and be ready for occupancy about a year later, developer Hugh Futrell said.

The brown wooden structure at 499 Humboldt St. had housed county offices and a landscape architecture firm. It's being razed to make way for a 52-unit apartment building for low-income and very-low-income residents.

There will also be 2,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor and 41 parking spaces for residents. The project is expected to cost $12.9 million.

It's located in a part of the city Futrell knows well. The site at the intersection of Humboldt and Seventh streets is just one block away from two other Futrell projects: The Burbank, a five-story condominium building that opened in 2008, and Beaver Street Apartments, 34 low-income apartments over commercial space that opened in 1996.

A smaller market-rate apartment building was once planned for an adjoining site on Seventh Street that houses a single-story building and until recently was home to a hair salon. The status of that project is unclear.

The site is on the edge of the Cherry Street Historic District, home to some of the city's most notable Victorian-era residences.

Units in what is being called Humboldt Apartments will range from $749 per month for one-bedroom units to up to $1,249 for three-bedroom units, according to city reports.

The project is being financed through a $3.1 million loan from the Santa Rosa Housing Authority, up to $6.4 million in city-issued tax exempt revenue bonds and $4.3 million from investors who will receive tax credits.

Forty-three of the units will be dedicated to people who are low-income, defined as earning less than 60 percent of the median household income for the area. Eight units will be for very-low-income residents, or those earning less than 50 percent of the median.

The federal government considers the median income for a family of four in Sonoma County in 2012 to be $82,600.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...w-cost-housing

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa celebrates Sixth Street undercrossing
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Monday, September 10, 2012 at 6:24 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 10, 2012 at 6:24 p.m.

Santa Rosa leaders, city staff and neighbors gathered Monday at the site of the new Sixth Street undercrossing to celebrate the completion of a project designed to help reconnect a city long divided by Highway 101.

The project was finished over the summer at a cost of about $1.3 million, more than half of which came from federal and state transportation grants.

It was a rare opportunity to improve the connections for cars, bicycles and pedestrians between the downtown and Railroad Square neighborhoods, said Rick Moshier, the city director of transportation and public works.

Mayor Ernesto Olivares noted that the short new stretch of roadway, including sideways, bike lanes and pedestrian-scale lamp posts, connects the West End neighborhood, Chops Teen Center, future SMART train station and miles of trails with the St. Rose neighborhood, Sonoma County Museum and downtown.

“That’s what the highway underpass behind me represents — connectivity; the connection between two vibrant business districts and unique neighborhoods on either side of the freeway,” Olivares said shortly before cutting an orange ribbon with an oversized pair of scissors.

Olivares thanked numerous people, including Councilman Gary Wysocky, who represents the city on the Sonoma County Transportation Authority and pushed for redirecting funds left over from the Highway 101 widening project to the undercrossing.

One of the engineering challenges was that the roadbed had to be dug down 3½-feet to provide the required 15 feet of vertical clearance. That created some drainage issues that had to be resolved, Moshier said.

“Projects like this get so complicated, you wouldn’t believe it,” he said.

The work was completed by Ghilotti Construction Co. of Santa Rosa.

Allan Thomas, a director of the West End Neighborhood Association, said Sixth Street was cut off when the freeway was elevated decades ago, something he said was poor planning.

“It has taken us years and years — probably 20 years — to undo what we did 50 years ago by blocking off that street,” Thomas said.

Several other public works projects are planned for the area, including a SMART multi-use path between West Eight Street and College Avenue, sewer and water improvements at Sixth Street, storm drain improvement at Fourth Street and the construction of the SMART station, Moshier said.

“There a lot of public investment going on in this part of town,” Moshier said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...-undercrossing

[kylenelson]

Originally Posted by ElDudarinodotcom

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...w-cost-housing

This is will be an awesome addition to downtown. I thought the location was interesting as well! It is nice to see Santa rosa continuing its growth. Let's see some high rises!!!

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa transit mall gets new mural
John Burgess / PD
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 4:24 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 4:24 p.m.



There isn't much room for landscaping in the city's new transit mall, but an oak tree is nevertheless taking root in the midst of the downtown construction site.

Tile contractor Nick Tucker and Artstart artists have taken advantage of a lull in the renovation of the city's bus depot to install a large tile mural depicting the twisted limbs of a mature oak tree.

“It definitely changes the look of the whole place,” Tucker said Monday as he stepped back to regard the hundreds of hand-painted tiles he has set in mortar so far.

The mural, which will cost about $50,000, was designed by local artist Mario Uribe. Its tiles were painted, glazed and fired by the young artists at Artstart, the nonprofit art program for teens.

The transit mall is undergoing a $3.1 million renovation to make it more inviting and easier to navigate.

The project got under way in June with the relocation of bus stops to First Street. The work was expected to be done by September, but fabrication delays have pushed that back to the end of October, said Jason Parrish, project manager.

The idea behind the mural and another art installation, a sheet-metal sculpture of a rose, was to bring a sense of the natural world into the urban hardscape, Parrish said.

“We still wanted to be able to provide that sense of the natural surroundings and the quality of the environment we live in,” he said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...er-mural&tc=ar
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[fieldsofdreams]

I've been to the "temporary" Santa Rosa Transit Mall across from City Hall, and I took quite a lot of pictures of the CityBus, Sonoma County Transit, and Mendocino Transit Authority. Yet, I still need to see what kinds of improvements will eventually be added to the Transit Mall: will it have attractive art pieces? Will it have better toilets? Will it have better access for the handicapped? Too many questions still linger over my head on that one.

[kylenelson]

Design board OKs revised plans for Montgomery Village Boudin SF bakery



An artist's rendering of the proposed Boudin SF bakery site at Montgomery Village.


By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 4:09 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at 4:09 p.m.


A revised plan to build a Boudin SF bakery at Montgomery Village Shopping Center in Santa Rosa has won final approval from the city's Design Review Board.

The board voted 5-0 last week to approve David Codding's plans for the new 7,000-square-foot building, which will be leased by the restaurant chain known for its chowder-filled bread-bowls.
The new plan includes more trees, wider building overhangs and additional outdoor seating, Codding said.
The building will be 36 percent smaller than the former home of Copperfield's Books, which Codding demolished earlier this year to make way for Boudin and additional parking.
About 1,800 square feet of the building has yet to be leased, and would be appropriate for a coffee or juice shop, Codding said
A previous version of the project modeled after the chain's popular bakery at Fisherman's Wharf was rejected by the board as "corporate," "hokey" and a poor fit for Santa Rosa. Codding Construction broke ground on the project Tuesday. It expects to have the shell completed by January and the bakery open by April, Codding said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...n-SF-design-OK

[fieldsofdreams]

Woohoo! Boudin at last in Sonoma County! That would be a fun addition to Montgomery Village indeed, making it a better place to shop and dine. I just hope though that La Boulange will also head to Santa Rosa too.

[kylenelson]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Woohoo! Boudin at last in Sonoma County! That would be a fun addition to Montgomery Village indeed, making it a better place to shop and dine. I just hope though that La Boulange will also head to Santa Rosa too.

I agree La Boulange would be nice. I think Santa Rosa also needs a Elephant bar or Cheese Cake Factory. Something big like that needs to go in by the coddingtown mall where the los robles was demolished. There would be ample parking and plenty off room. Plus right off the freeway!

[fieldsofdreams]

Sounds good for a location. And by the way, what shops could be heading to Coddingtown because when I went there the last time, it seemed like it's still "dead"? I mean, Gottschalks was gone, so were Life Uniform and other good shops, and what's left: discount stores, something that Simon Malls may not be satisfied to have.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Target is planned to open in the Gottschalks building, and BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse recently opened up. Along with Whole Foods, which opened in 2010, these stores should bring many more people to the mall which should in turn attract new retail. Codding town is going for the 30 to 60 crowd and plans high end retail stores.

[fieldsofdreams]

Originally Posted by ElDudarinodotcom

Target is planned to open in the Gottschalks building, and BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse recently opened up. Along with Whole Foods, which opened in 2010, these stores should bring many more people to the mall which should in turn attract new retail. Codding town is going for the 30 to 60 crowd and plans high end retail stores.

Ah awesome. It will be a contrast to Santa Rosa Plaza where the target demographic seems to be the younger crowd... a good mix indeed. I think the Target at Coddingtown would be a good location since it has a lot of gross leasable space, but there are still a lot of empty stores that need to be filled.