Eye on the Future

New Visions of a Historic City
Imagine it is 2020. Napa’s planning policies and related regulations supported the vision of a mixed-use and vital central district 16 years earlier. You are walking along the Napa River promenade, window shopping on Main Street, planning a dinner party in your new flat, and meeting a friend coming into town on a train.

Napa has a traditional, friendly downtown with a regional and international reputation. All of Napa’s downtown historic buildings have been restored and are complemented by the scale and architectural character of contemporary development. The downtown has a strong open space framework of connected waterfront parks, plazas and walkable streets. There are now more places to go and things to do. The Opera House Theater has completed its 17th season since its renovation was completed in 2003 and several other venues offer entertainment.

Downtown provides a variety of housing choices. New small apartments provide affordable and centralized housing for Napa’s workforce; townhouses and street-oriented flats ring the downtown and transition from the traditional neighborhoods; beautiful condominiums with a view of the Napa River are a short walk from COPIA and downtown’s cultural scene.

Napa’s neighborhoods benefit from new downtown investment. There are activities and places that serve as civic amenities. The new arts and performance venues, civic plazas and parks are favorite places for evening concerts and community events.

This future was made possible in part because the 2004 Downtown Mixed-use and Infill Residential Development Strategy, integrated the City’s policies and plans, community input, and development opportunities into a set of urban design concepts and implementation steps.

DOWNTOWN NAPA

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS 2006-2008
The following private development projects represent over $150 million in capital investment. This does not include real estate transactions, architectural/engineering design or other soft costs.

ZELLER BUILDING, 1315 & 1321 First Street
(Developer: Rossi Development, Robert & Inga Zeller, David & Mary Raab, and Lisa Raab) Currently under construction on the south side of First Street just three doors east of Franklin Street. An older building has been demolished to make way for a new, two-story building with ground-floor retail and second-story office. The office space and a portion of the retail space have been leased.

THE WESTIN VERASA HOTEL, 1314 McKinstry Street
(Developer: IntraWest; Operator: Westin Hotel) This 160-room condo hotel on McKinstry Street will include a restaurant and other on-site amenities. Construction to begin late 2006; open 2008.

THE RIVERFRONT, 600-700 Main Street
(Developer: Channel Properties) Located on Main Street between Fifth and Third streets on the west bank of the Napa River, this mixed-use project will include 50 residential units, 44,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail, and 30,000-square-feet of class A office space. Construction to begin April 2007; open 2008.

INN AT TOWN CENTER, 1400-1500 First Street
(Developer: Lodgeworks; Operator: Sierra Suites) A five-story, 142-room hotel with 12,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail space and 2,000-square-feet of meeting space, on the northwest corner of First and Franklin streets. Demolition of existing buildings to begin in late 2006; open in 2008.

NAPA SQUARE, 955 Franklin Street
(Developer: CDI) Approximately 57,000-square-feet of office space and 8,000-square-feet of ground-level retail, located on the southwest corner of First and Franklin streets. Construction to begin fall 2006; late 2007/early 2008. Leasing underway.

MAIN STREET WEST, Main Street
(Developer: Wiseman Company) Located on the southeast corner of Main and Clinton streets, this 38,000-square-foot, three-story building will include ground-floor retail space with offices above. Construction to begin in fall 2006; open late 2007.

OXBOW PUBLIC MARKET, 606, 612 & 622 First Street
(Developer: Steve Carlin, Bart Rhoades & Rob Mann; Oxbow Management LLC) Located on land adjacent to COPIA on the north side of First Street, demolition is complete and construction will soon begin on a 23,000-square-foot specialty retail marketplace that will feature complementary food vendors, cafes, wine tasting, and a wide selection of local family-owned farms. Open fall 2007.

The following public capital improvement projects represent an additional $22 million in construction dollars invested in the Downtown.

Projects Underway:
• Borreo Building Seismic Retrofit (City of Napa/Redevelopment Agency)
• Flood Walls, Riverfront Promenade, 5th to 3rd streets (Flood Control District)
• Sewer Underground Project (Napa Sanitation District)
• Pearl Street Garage: Elevator Retrofit (City of Napa)

Projects to be Constructed in Fall/Winter 2006:
• Pedestrian Improvement Program Phase 4 (Redevelopment Agency)
• 2nd/3rd Street Lighting Improvement Project (Redevelopment Agency)

Projects to Start Construction in Spring 2007:
• City/County Parking Garage (County of Napa/Redevelopment Agency)
• Oxbow Preserve Restoration (City of Napa)
• Third Street overlay, California Boulevard to Silverado Trail (City of Napa)
• Soscol/Third Street intersection improvements (Redevelopment Agency)

Produced by Napa Community Redevelopment Agency. Reprinted with permission. For more information about the City of Napa and ongoing projects, please visit www.cityofnapanews.com