Santa Rosa: Infrastructure and Urban Planning

[kylenelson]

They have officially demolished the gottshauks building to prepare for the new Target coming to Coddingtown.

What are your thoughts on Target coming to this part of Santa Rosa?

Any fun memories from Coddingtown you have?

I always enjoyed Christmas Shopping there but i think Target will be a great fit and will bring in a bunch of traffic for that mall and hopefully new development for the area.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

The Target is great for the mall and that area. The Coddingtown Area certainly isn't upscale, so the Target is a perfect fit for the Demographic. I was in Rosa for Thanksgiving and took a drive to Coddingtown. It's great to see how much it's changed. The Whole Foods, BJ's, and the remodel of the exterior of the mall are really changing the feel of Coddingtown. Things are looking up. Now if only we could get a Nordstrom and some upscale stores to either Coddingtown or the Plaza....

Speaking of the Santa Rosa Plaza...the remodel of that mall looks great too.

While cruzing downtown I saw that a new headquarters for the Luther Burbank Savings was nearly completed at the old Traverso's site, and the five story low-income housing project on Riley being built by Futrell (same developer as the hopefully soon to be built Museum on the square) was up to the first floor.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

More development in the works for Coddingtown

Dick's Sporting Goods eyes Los Robles site at Coddingtown

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 4:17 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 7:10 p.m.
Dick's Sporting Goods, the nation's largest sports and outdoor-gear chain, is planning to open a store in Santa Rosa just south of Coddingtown Mall, on the site of the former Los Robles Lodge.

The company recently signed a lease to occupy a 50,000-square-foot building to be constructed at the intersection of Cleveland and Edwards avenues, Kirstie Moore, development director at Codding Enterprises, confirmed Thursday.

Codding Enterprises' desire to construct a new retail building at the site is no surprise. The company submitted preliminary plans for a retail project to the city earlier this year, but didn't name a tenant.

Moore said the project was "consistent with the neighborhood." The property just south of the mall fronts Highway 101 and backs up to a small apartment complex.

Dick's, a publicly-traded company based in Pittsburgh, has more than 500 stores around the United States. Next year, it plans to open its first Sonoma County store in the East Washington Place shopping center in Petaluma.

The Coddingtown location is expected to open in the first quarter of 2014, Moore said. It will be built by Codding Construction, which is also removing the former Gottschalks building nearby to make way for a Target.

The venerable Los Robles Lodge was an 85-unit hotel and restaurant built in 1962. Long a hot-spot in the city's social scene, it closed in 2006.

Oakland-based developer BayRock Residential first proposed building 80 units of housing, then 102 on the 3.5-acre site. But in the midst of the recession, the city rejected the project with an eye toward preserving the site for a retail project that would someday bring in sales tax revenue.

Codding Enterprises purchased the site in 2010, demolished the vacant building, and began planning to develop it.

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

[fieldsofdreams]

Very interesting. I didn't know that Dick's is opening up shops in Petaluma and Santa Rosa... I saw one being constructed right now in Daly City at Serramonte Mall. Perhaps this will ramp up the competition for sports stores even more, with Sports Authority and Big 5 already doing well in that category.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

First some really upsetting news...then some not so upsetting, but not that exciting news. Both are on the Hugh Futrell front. Futrell really is a weasel of a developer. He has no problem screwing over Santa Rosa and its residents, so long as it benefits his bank account.

Residential component dropped from proposal for Santa Rosa's former AT&T building



By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 3, 2013 at 7:08 a.m.

A downtown developer is downsizing his plans for the former AT&T building in Santa Rosa because he's under the gun to get the long-delayed project moving this summer.

Hugh Futrell is asking the city to let him chop five stories off what had been a 10-story mixed-use tower dubbed Museum on the Square, eliminating entirely the project's residential component.

The change is needed to simplify the financing and speed up construction of the project to prevent tenants for the office space from pulling out of the deal, Futrell said.

"We still believe this is a critically transformative project for downtown Santa Rosa," Futrell said.

The city's former redevelopment agency purchased the long-vacant AT&T building in 2007 for $3 million. The plan was to find a developer to revitalize the windowless concrete structure, which many viewed as an eyesore in the heart of downtown.

Futrell partnered with TLCD Architecture to design a glass-clad building housing the Sonoma County Museum and a restaurant on the first floor, with four stories of offices above. On top of that, they proposed five stories with 43 apartments.

But the challenging financing environment and demise of the redevelopment agency conspired to repeatedly stall the project. The 2010 contract to sell the building to Futrell for $2.1 million has been extended three times, most recently through the end of this year...

Full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...-AT-T-building

Six-story apartment building for seniors proposed for Santa Rosa



By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 4:46 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 4:46 p.m.

Santa Rosa developer Hugh Futrell is planning a six-story downtown apartment building for 140 low-income seniors.

The $30 million project on Fourth Street near Brookwood Avenue will include a medical center and other services for seniors on the first floor, features Futrell says are crucial for an aging population.

“The exploding demographic of low- and very-low income elderly has created an urgent need for affordable housing linked to affordable preventive medical care and supportive services,” Futrell in a statement.

The project is another example of how developers are rethinking what they can build in response to a real estate market still recovering from a historic collapse and a tight lending environment heavily reliant on tax credit financing for low income housing.

Futrell is currently building a five-story low-income project on Humboldt Street. He also recently scaled back his Museum on the Square project at the former AT&T building, eliminating five stories of apartments in an effort to close the deal and begin construction in August.

Futrell has owned the vacant three-quarters-acre lot at 888 Fourth Street for about five years. In 2008 he won approval for build a seven-story building with 52-market rate condominiums. The recession killed that deal, so Futrell later tried to resurrect it as 116 units of rental housing. That also went nowhere.

Then last year, he began talking to two potential partners to take the project in a new direction...

Full article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...for-Santa-Rosa
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[ElDudarinodotcom]

Santa Rosa council approves scaled back Museum on the Square project

By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.
Though disappointed to see the top five stories disappear, Santa Rosa City Council members unanimously supported a scaled back version of the Museum on the Square project Tuesday.

The council agreed to sell the windowless former AT&T building downtown to developer Hugh Futrell even though he is no longer proposing to turn it into a 10-story tower topped by 43 apartments.

Instead, Futrell says he'll turn the concrete structure into a glass-clad building with museum and restaurant space on the first floor and four stories of office space above.

Councilwoman Julie Combs said she was “experiencing a tremendous sense of loss” from the elimination of the residential units, which she said could have brought “excitement and vibrancy” to the downtown. Nevertheless she said the smaller project would go a long way toward improving that area of Courthouse Square.

“I think this is one of those instances when we don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Combs said.

Futrell explained that he needed to simplify the project to get it financed, purchased and under construction by August to ensure his anchor tenants can occupy the building by next year.

Council members praised Futrell for his commitment to downtown and his tenacity for the sticking with the project despite many hurdles. The building was purchased by the city's redevelopment agency in 2007 and was in the process of being sold to Futrell and his partners when the state eliminated its 425 redevelopment agencies. The resulting bureaucratic morass has bogged down the project ever since.

“To have the state turn around and kick him in the butt the way it did, it amazing that he's still involved,” Councilman Jake Ours said.

The financing for the residential component of the project was complex and was also impacted by the federal sequestration affecting the timing of special tax credits for such infill projects, Futrell said.

The amended agreement calls for Futrell to close escrow by the end of August. The new sale price will be based on a new appraisal that is underway. The proceeds will not go directly to the city, but will instead be distributed among various taxing agencies in the area, including schools and other districts.

Even though it won't build housing, the project will spur demand for housing downtown, Futrell said.

“We need both jobs and housing. But jobs are the fundamental determinant of housing demand,” Futrell said.

The long vacant building is considered by many to be an eyesore and a major impediment to energizing the downtown. “We need to make that corner vibrant. That corner has been hamstringing our ability to revitalize Courthouse Square for how many years?” Councilman Gary Wysocky said.

City staff estimate the revised project could create 600 jobs and generate $60 million of annual economic activity for the city. Instead of $26 million, the new project will cost $16.5 million.

Mayor Scott Bartley praised Futrell for his personal investment in the project and supported the goal of keeping good-paying jobs downtown. But he said he worried that time was running out for the project.

“I hate to say it, this is sort of a hail Mary attempt to save this,” Bartley said.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article...-on-the-Square

[fieldsofdreams]

Question then: for the former AT&T Building, what kinds of offices and/or shops will be placed in there? It is located next to the Transit Mall and across from Santa Rosa Plaza, so I can see a lot of commercial activity that the building can be used in the future... Plus, I wonder who are the most influential developers in Santa Rosa because it is pretty close to Novato, has more people than San Rafael and Novato combined, and I like the commercial vibe it offers.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Originally Posted by fieldsofdreams

Question then: for the former AT&T Building, what kinds of offices and/or shops will be placed in there? It is located next to the Transit Mall and across from Santa Rosa Plaza, so I can see a lot of commercial activity that the building can be used in the future... Plus, I wonder who are the most influential developers in Santa Rosa because it is pretty close to Novato, has more people than San Rafael and Novato combined, and I like the commercial vibe it offers.

A large chuck of the office space is going to be leased by TLCD architecture, which designed the building. The bottom floor is planned as an art gallery for the Sonoma County Museum, as well as a yet unnamed restaurant space.

Recently Hugh Futrell has been the most active developer in the downtown area. He has recently built the The Burbank condo building, the Downtown Apartments, 201 3rd St office building, 123 4th st condo/retail, 200 4th st office building, and under contruction is the 499 Humboldt st affordable apartments. However, he has fallen through on many of the larger projects.

I guess I can't complain too much about the downsized museum project. It will certainly improve the windowless eyesore that is the AT&T building. I am just frustrated and disappointed that all the large scale, high density projects have gone by the wayside. We just have to hold out hope that with the improving economy a developer will actually move forward with a tall, mixed-use project that the city has been looking for.

[kylenelson]

Originally Posted by ElDudarinodotcom

A large chuck of the office space is going to be leased by TLCD architecture, which designed the building. The bottom floor is planned as an art gallery for the Sonoma County Museum, as well as a yet unnamed restaurant space.

Recently Hugh Futrell has been the most active developer in the downtown area. He has recently built the The Burbank condo building, the Downtown Apartments, 201 3rd St office building, 123 4th st condo/retail, 200 4th st office building, and under contruction is the 499 Humboldt st affordable apartments. However, he has fallen through on many of the larger projects.

I guess I can't complain too much about the downsized museum project. It will certainly improve the windowless eyesore that is the AT&T building. I am just frustrated and disappointed that all the large scale, high density projects have gone by the wayside. We just have to hold out hope that with the improving economy a developer will actually move forward with a tall, mixed-use project that the city has been looking for.

I hope they do something someday with the rest of the at&t building right next to the burbank bank, is there any plans or does it have anything going on inside it? But this is a great start.

[ElDudarinodotcom]

Originally Posted by kylenelson

I hope they do something someday with the rest of the at&t building right next to the burbank bank, is there any plans or does it have anything going on inside it? But this is a great start.

I believe that building is actually still occupied by AT&T. There are no plans to renovate it to my knowledge. Despite the giant robot looking thing on top, that building looks much better than the current 'museum on the square' building. It has windows, and the west side has been dressed up a bit with the the large art scupture that moves with the wind. But yeah, it would be nice to get a complete overhaul.