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Santa Rosa: Infrastructure and Urban Planning

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#1 ·
Santa Rosa bike bridge could cost $20 million
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The projected costs of a pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning Highway 101 between Santa Rosa Junior College and Coddingtown mall have soared to as much as $20 million, more than double original estimates.

The new projections may be a significant factor in the Santa Rosa City Council’s decision Tuesday night about whether to move forward with the project, long sought by the city’s cycling community.


A model of the proposed bicycle and pedestrian bridge over Highway 101

Councilman Gary Wysocky, an avid cyclist, said the project would be an important way to link the college, a key retail shopping area, and the likely future location of the northern Santa Rosa SMART rail station.

“A pedestrian and bicycle bridge connecting to a light rail station — you show me a greener project in America,” Wysocky said.

In 2009, when the city first held community meetings on the project, initial estimates ranged from $5 million to $9 million. The city then commissioned a just-completed feasibility study that put the numbers between $10 million and $14 million.

But a city staff report before the council Tuesday notes that the “full cost to deliver a complete bridge project could be closer to $20 million.”

That’s due to a number of “unknown costs” that could be associated with getting people to and from the bridge, such as bike and walking paths and signs, and higher potential construction costs if funding challenges delay the project further, according to the report.....
source and full article: http://www.watchsonomacounty.com/2010/11/cities/santa-rosa-bike-bridge-could-cost-20-million/
 
#134 ·
Recently completed low-income housing at 670 7th St. (Humboldt Apartments) Nothing special here, but at least it's more residential downtown.



http://www.hughfutrellcorp.com/index.php/site/page/humboldt-apartments-670-seventh-street
Ya doesnt look to bad. I havent had a chance to see it since it was still just wood walls. Looking forward to making a trip to santa rosa when i get a chance to see it!

Santa Rosa's AT&T building being revamped for new tenants

Full Article:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140327/articles/140329550
This is such great news! After us talking about it for years we finally are seeing it happen :applause:
 
#133 ·
Santa Rosa's AT&T building being revamped for new tenants
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
March 27, 2014, 6:42 PM


Demolition began this week on the former AT&T building in Santa Rosa, the first step in a long-awaited effort to redevelop the vacant downtown eyesore into a glass-clad office building.

About 14 workers from Richmond-based demolition firm C. Hammond Construction began gutting the interior of the windowless, fortress-like structure, long considered a blight on the downtown.

“Because we build things, we're excited to be building something,” developer Hugh Futrell said.

The $16 million project, dubbed Museum on the Square, is a downsized version of the 10-story mixed-use tower originally proposed for the site.

But the plan promises to reinvigorate the long-lifeless southwest corner of Old Courthouse Square, with up to 255 workers and thousands of visitors to the wine museum and restaurant planned for the ground floor.

It's the latest and most high-profile of several development projects updating the look of downtown Santa Rosa. These include Luther Burbank Savings' new branch on the site of the former Traverso's deli; Humboldt Apartments, a five-story 51-unit building at Humboldt and Seventh streets also built by Futrell; and the Sonoma County Museum's expansion into the former Conklin Bros. flooring company building, at Seventh and B streets, which is becoming an art gallery...
Full Article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140327/articles/140329550
 
#135 · (Edited)
Large Santa Rosa office projects to begin
AT&T, AgCredit buildings aim for spring construction
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter
Monday, March 17, 2014, 7:00 am


SANTA ROSA — Major renovation of the former AT&T telephone switching building in downtown Santa Rosa and American AgCredit’s 120,000-square-foot new headquarters north of the city are poised to move to construction in the next month.

Together, they are set to transform the entryways to the heart of Santa Rosa and to the business parks adjacent to Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport.. . .


American AgCredit plans to give the green light to project general contractor Jim Murphy & Associates of Santa Rosa to break ground on the office building at the end of April, according to Don Tomasi, a principal architect of project designer TLCD Architecture. . . . .
Full Article: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/89045/large-santa-rosa-office-projects-to-begin/
 
#136 ·
More large retail projects set to start
Oliver’s, Friedman’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target on deck
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter
Monday, March 17, 2014, 6:20 am

. . . . .


Dick’s, Target

Construction on the 50,000-square-foot Dick’s Sporting Goods store is set to begin in April at the former Los Robles Lodge site in Santa Rosa, according to Brad Baker, president and chief executive officer of developer Codding Investments.

Based on that timing, the store is scheduled to open in March 2015, he said. Codding Construction will be the general contractor.

Pittsburgh-based Dick’s opened a Petaluma store last year, one of 558 stores nationwide.

The Santa Rosa project also includes a 2,000-square-foot Patelco Credit Union branch on the 3.5-acre property on Cleveland Avenue just south of Coddingtown regional mall.

At Coddingtown, the opening for the 155,000-square-foot new Target store has been pushed back to October from July, Mr. Baker said. In addition to relocating tenants on the side of the center that will become an entrance for Target, the mall owners are bringing in new restaurants, including Jack’s Urban Eats and Coddingtown Grill, which is set to be renamed.

. . . . .
Full Article: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/89033/more-large-retail-projects-set-to-start/
 
#138 ·
Tuesday, May 20, 2014, 4:58 pm
Renovation opens façade of former AT&T building

Work continues on downtown Santa Rosa’s Museum on the Square project, a renovation that promises to transform a bunker-like, five-story former telephone switching facility on the edge of Courthouse Square into a modern office building and wine museum.

On Tuesday, demolition crews overseen by Chris Hammond, Inc., of Richmond hoisted nine concrete panels nine inches thick and weighing 20,000–22,000 pounds each, creating a spectacle for those in the city’s downtown Transit Mall.

The panels are being cut in the walls with diamond-tipped saws to add daylight to the formerly windowless telephone switching building. Hugh Futrell Corp. is the project owner, and TLCD Architecture is the designer as well as a future building tenant.







http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/92647/renovation-opens-facade-of-former-att-building/
 
#142 ·
Monday, July 28, 2014, 7:00 am
Kaiser buys land for Santa Rosa medical office building

SANTA ROSA — Kaiser Permanente has put details to plans revealed several months ago for a southwest Santa Rosa medical office building, by purchasing the land and securing a preliminary city green light on the design for a 75,000-square-foot structure there.

On July 17, the Oakland-based nonprofit health care organization purchased 10.85 acres in four parcels on Mercury Way off Corporate Center Parkway in the Northpoint Corporate Center business park for $5.25 a square foot, or $2.48 million, according to the seller.

Kaiser wants to build a three-story medical office building for primary care services — family medicine, health education, obstetrics, gynecology, dermatology and podiatry — and supporting imaging, laboratory and pharmacy units, according to the June 19 presentation packet for the Santa Rosa Design Review Board. The board unanimously approved the preliminary design and is set to review the final design soon...
Full Article: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/95688/kaiser-buys-land-for-santa-rosa-medical-office-building/
 
#143 ·
Monday, March 16, 2015, 6:45 am
New art museum to open next to Sonoma County Museum
By Cynthia Sweeney, Business Journal Staff Reporter



After years of sharing space with history exhibits in a historic Santa Rosa post office building, an art museum is finding a home right next door.

The Conklin Bros. building, on the corner of Seventh and B streets, is being renovated to house the new Art Museum of Sonoma County. With the History Museum and adjacent Sculpture Garden, the section of downtown Santa Rosa will represent a block-long cultural corridor.

“We’ve needed to expand for a long time,” said Diane Evans, the museum’s executive director. “My hope is we will be more visible in the community, with day an night time activities. (The old post office) was limiting and isn’t conducive to showing top-notch art.”

Since the Conklin Bros. building was vacated in 2013, the warehouse is being transformed into an space for a museum of contemporary art. Close to $900,000 was invested for a make-over that included a seismic retrofit and a museum-specific environmental controls.

The 4,500-square-foot building has tall ceilings, a roll-up glass garage door and concrete floors. In phase 2 of the renovation, the front of the building will house education programs, more exhibit space and offices.

The new building’s design and renovation is being led by Jensen Architects, who added skylights to the warehouse. Founder Mark Jensen’s notable projects include San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s sculpture garden and The Shed in Healdsburg.

The inaugural art exhibition, ‘Andy Warhol to Kara Walker: Picturing the Iconic’, begins April 11 with a private tour and dinner and a “Studio 54″ disco party, and runs through May 25...
Full Article: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/105583/new-art-museum-to-open-next-to-sonoma-county-museum/
 
#144 ·
Birds-Eye View of New American AgCredit Headquarters at Airport Business Center
by Don Tomasi on March 2, 2015

Recent aerial photographs show the new American AgCredit headquarters building taking form at the Airport Business Center in Santa Rosa. The project, designed by TLCD Architecture clearly show how the two buildings that comprise this 120,000 square foot complex wrap around to enclose a central courtyard, and how the buildings are connected by pedestrian bridges at each end.



http://tlcdtoday.com/2015/03/02/birds-eye-view-of-new-american-agcredit-headquarters-at-airport-business-center/
 
#146 ·
Art Museum of Sonoma County set to open
BY DAN TAYLOR
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT



A crew rolls down a stain in the old Conklin Bros. building at Seventh and B streets in Santa Rosa which has been remodeled into the Art Museum of Sonoma County, Friday, March 20, 2015. (KENT PORTER/ PD)

After decades of false starts and delayed dreams, the Art Museum of Sonoma County will open in early April, creating the most modern art showcase the city of Santa Rosa has ever had.

The new museum opens with an April 11 gala; its first exhibit, “Andy Warhol to Kara Walker: Picturing the Iconic,” opens the following day.

Its building is just steps away from the Sonoma County Museum, where for nearly 30 years, art shows have shared space with history exhibits. The original museum, housed in Santa Rosa’s historic Post Office building, will be reborn as the History Museum of Sonoma County.

For most of its history, the Sonoma County Museum led a double life. Museum leaders initially interested primarily in local history saw, within the first few years, a need to exhibit art as well.

Now the entity has been reborn as twins, with one museum for art and one for history located at opposite ends of the same block of Seventh Street in downtown Santa Rosa...
Full Article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/3602853-181/art-museum-of-sonoma-county
 
#147 ·
From TLCD webpage



After many months of sawing, grinding, dust and demolition, the scaffolding for the Museum on the Square project in downtown Santa Rosa came down today revealing a new presence for the repurposed AT&T telephone switching building. Soon to be followed by a new perforated metal skin, todays unveiling shows the possibilities for an engaging new architectural presence on the square...
http://tlcdtoday.com/
Also see The Press Democrat article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3842236-181/new-look-revealed-for-former
 
#148 ·
72-unit apartment complex near Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square OK’d
BY KEVIN MCCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
June 6, 2015, 6:11PM




After years of talking about the need to build transit-oriented housing downtown, Santa Rosa may finally be close to getting some.

A developer won approval Thursday for a 72-unit apartment complex called Pullman Lofts just a few blocks north of the future Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station in Railroad Square.

The project proposes to wedge a three-story complex on the long, narrow 2-acre site of a former lumberyard between the rail line and Wilson Street.

That kind of higher-density housing near a transportation hub is precisely the kind of project the city has tried to encourage for years, but the economy and other factors have made it tough for developers to deliver.

“The marketplace is now catching up with the Downtown Station Area plan of 8 years ago,” said Bill Rose, the city’s supervising planner...
Full Article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4029949-181/72-unit-apartment-complex-near-santa
 
#149 ·
Santa Rosa Hyatt Vineyard Creek considers adding up to 100 rooms
BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF REPORT
September 21, 2015, 6:01AM

Santa Rosa’s Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa said it is exploring an expansion of up to an additional 100 rooms.

The plan comes amid a string of new hotels and lodging expansions in Sonoma County, including the 200-room hotel under construction at the Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park. Other hotels under construction or planned are a 163-room Oxford Suites Hotel just down the street from the casino, a 100-room Holiday Inn in Windsor, a 64-room hotel at The Barlow development in Sebastopol and a 39-room H3 Guesthouse in Healdsburg. In addition, a 200-room hotel could be part of a planned housing development by the Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians in Windsor.

The Vineyard Creek hotel was built in Railroad Square in 2002 for $36 million. It has 40,000 square feet of meeting space and a 22,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard. In March, Thayer Lodging Group of Annapolis, Md., bought the hotel and spa and is continuing to run it under the Hyatt franchise. Thayer also recently purchased the eight-acres the hotel sits on, which had been leased from the city for more than a decade.

Currently at 155-rooms, the addition of 100 rooms at Vineyard Creek would make it the largest hotel in Sonoma County, larger than the Graton Casino facility by 55 rooms and slightly larger than the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa and the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel also in Rohnert Park.

Plans for the hotel’s expansion are to be finalized soon, according to Martijn Sax, general manager.
http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/4493650-181/santa-rosa-hyatt-vineyard-creek#Yf5HRcGxAR7jr0vT.97
 
#150 ·
Santa Rosa City Council advances project to reunify Old Courthouse Square

Santa Rosa City Council advances project to reunify Old Courthouse Square

Long delayed plans to reunify Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square got a big boost Tuesday when city officials supported borrowing the money needed to get a scaled-down version of the project underway by the spring.

The City Council’s unanimous decision to slash the project from $17 million to no more than $10 million and instruct city staff to explore financing a portion of the cost represented a significant step forward for the controversial project.

“Today is the time to stop studying it, stop talking about it and start working on it,” Vice Mayor Chris Coursey said. “Let’s get it done.”

The decision was a coup for the group of downtown property owners and business leaders who have been urging city staff for months to back away from the more elaborate design endorsed by the previous council in favor of a less elaborate, more traditional square similar to plazas in popular tourist destinations like Healdsburg and Sonoma.
...

Read the story here:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4512943-181/santa-rosa-city-council-advances
 
#151 ·
Re: Santa Rosa City Council advances project to reunify Old Courthouse Square

I'm grateful the council took action to move the project forward. Coursey is right, “Today is the time to stop studying it, stop talking about it and start working on it."

Cutting $7 million from the budget will certainly limit the scope of the work, however. While the PD article covers the implications of the financing model they propose, it doesn't really cover what "scaled-back" really looks like. Sure there's a theory as to how they can do this for so much less money.

If anyone on the thread was at the meeting or has further details, I'd be grateful for the info.
 
#152 ·
The article states that the square will be completely redesigned after considering public imput. Not sure how or when that is supposed to happen. I'm fine with keeping it simple as long as it has plenty of space for people to sit and hang out. It would be nice if they could include some sort of private vendor space for food and drinks a la Union Square or any European square. This gives people a reason to visit and stay in the square. I also hope they try to keep as many of the mature trees as possible. It is unique to have large redwoods growing in a city square.
 
#153 ·
More progress on reunified Courthouse Square

How a reunified Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa will look different

Does downtown Santa Rosa need more park space or more parking spaces?

The City Council’s direction Tuesday to maximize parking around Old Courthouse Square when it is reunited next year has reignited the long-dormant debate about how to strike a balance between people and cars in the heart of the city.

I am not yet able to post links or images, but the full story is available in today's (11/9/2015) Press Democrat. Perhaps someone with posting privileges can include the story below.
 
#154 ·
Santa Rosa City Council signs off on final Old Courthouse Square design

KEVIN MCCALLUM THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | January 26, 2016, 10:15PM |

The final design for the reunification of Old Courthouse Square won unanimous approval from the Santa Rosa City Council early Wednesday morning, a decision hailed by business leaders as a crucial step toward revitalizing the economic heart of the city and denounced by critics as denuding a verdant downtown park of its cherished trees to build roads and parking spaces...
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5128222-181/santa-rosa-city-council-signs?artslide=0

Below is a snapshot of the final design. I think it is pretty good all things considered. I like the grass tribute to the old courthouse footprint. There looks to be plenty of seating, flexible space, and several of the large trees are being saved. It's too bad there is so much parking, but I guess it is an acceptable compromise.


The full resolution PDF can be downloaded here: https://santa-rosa.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=4215388&GUID=0988E80B-34C6-4CE8-A212-CBFE146FEBF7
 
#155 ·
Santa Rosa’s Roseland University Prep gets $17M new campus

Architectural rendering of the entry to the $17 million new Roseland University Preparatory High School, which is set to break ground Jan. 22, 2016, in the Roseland area of southwest Santa Rosa. (Aidlin Darling Design & Studio Bondy Architecture)

BUSINESS JOURNAL STAFF REPORT
January 21, 2016, 3:17PM
Students in the disadvantaged Roseland neighborhood of southwest Santa Rosa who dream of going to college are getting a $17 million boost.

Construction of the new $17 million Roseland University Preparatory High School (roselandsd.org/RUP) is set to start Jan. 22. The two-story, 30,800-square-foot building will have 17 standard classrooms, library, art room, science classroom, science lab, offices, large multipurpose room and courtyard. The school is scheduled to open in fall 2017.

“Our work at Roseland University Prep has been a series of miracles from the start,” said Roseland Public Schools Superintendent Amy Jones-Kerr. “We started with a simple idea: to prepare students to have options for college entrance and successful, productive careers. Today, we celebrate not only the new home for students who plan to pursue a college degree but also the accomplishments of our alumni, their families and supporters who created this vibrant community.”

The project is made possible through a variety of support including a $1 million grant from the Ernest L. and Ruth W. Finley Foundation and $400,000 in community donations. Both gifts are helping the district reach its goal of also using a $1.6 million matching grant from the state.

Other project funds include a $7 million low-interest loan from the California School Finance Authority and a $7 million state grant. To cover the final piece of the construction, Roseland Public Schools is working to raise the final $200,000 needed to capitalize on a $1.6 million matching grant from the Office of Public School Construction. Every dollar the community gives will be matched dollar-for-dollar through the state grant to cover the remainder of the construction costs.

Roseland University Prep is a charter high school aimed at boosting academic achievement in Roseland. Since opening in 2004, the school has had a nearly perfect graduation rate. Of its 2015 graduating class, 97 percent are currently attending a two- or four-year university. Of the 581 alumni, 98 percent are enrolled in college, have graduated or are in the armed services...
Full Article: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/5102693-181/santa-rosa-roseland-school-construction
 
#156 ·
Construction Updates

Projects just finishing up and some getting started:

American AgCredit Finished





Construction Began @ Courthouse Square Starting
Construction Cam: http://srcity.org/departments/publicworks/courthousesquare/Pages/default.aspx


Other Sonoma County Projects:
Sonoma County is riding a wave of private construction activity, from a big, ultramodern lender headquarters to a $175 million “4.5-star” casino hotel to sizable warehouse projects for a space-hungry market.
Read More Here: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal....noma-county-construction-wave?gallery=5667192
 
#158 ·
DeTurk Winery Village Clears Hurdle for downtown Santa Rosa





A long-delayed Santa Rosa development project trying to balance the competing goals of historic preservation and high-density housing cleared a key hurdle this week.

The City Council late Tuesday overruled a lower board’s denial of the DeTurk Winery Village project, and instead gave the proposed 185-unit complex its unanimous approval and glowing praise.

“This checks just about every box that we have to check,” Mayor Chris Coursey said. “It’s what this city needs.”

Source: Press Democrat
 
#159 ·
Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square eyed for 144-room AC Hotel by Marriott


The Railroad Square area of downtown Santa Rosa could be getting a five-story, 144-room European-modern hotel, under a plan from a Dallas-based developer.

A 62-space parking lot bounded by Highway 101, Fourth, Fifth and Davis streets would be transformed into an AC Hotels by Marriott location, with a ground-floor restaurant and retail space, based on a proposal from Bedford Lodging.

The site, located at 210 Fifth St., is in the Railroad Square Historic Preservation District. The property also is in the Station Area Plan area, which allows for up to five stories and allows hotels by right, according to a presentation by staff planner Patrick Streeter to the city Design Review Board at an conceptual design review session in August. Read More

Source
 
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