The Scotts Valley City Council unanimously voted to enter 150-day agreement with a new developer to move forward with plans for the city’s much anticipated Town Center.
Designs for the center took a turn after Stanbery Development, the project’s developer since 2007, pulled out of its agreement with the city because of the dismal economy. Stanbery failed to renew the agreement and pay fees it owned the city by the May 1 deadline.
“The recession really hurt Stanbery.” Vice Mayor Dene Bustichi said. “Stanbery deals a lot with national chains, which have stopped their expansion throughout the country,”
The new development group, Russ and Kevin Pratt of the Pratt Co. and Douglas Wiele of Foothill Partners, has a new vision for the Town Center.
Wiele said that, where Stanbery had a draw with high-end retail, he hopes to create a more authentic downtown feel with mix of retail and restaurants that reflects Scotts Valley’s small-town vibe.
“Shopping centers are too perfect. We don’t want every building to look the same,” Wiele said. “If you can attract the great independent merchants — not the BJ’s pizza or the Chili’s, but the local all-stars — the boutiques will follow. It’s a very organic process.”
Foothill Partners, based in El Dorado Hills, developed the El Dorado Hills Town Center, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use downtown business district that has a feel similar to the vision for Scotts Valley’s center.
The Pratt Co. has a history with Scotts Valley — it developed the Scotts Village and Scotts Valley Square shopping centers. The Pratts also donated $1,000 last month to help keep the Fourth of July parade afloat.
The Pratt Co. had wanted to develop the Town Center in the plan’s beginning stages but had to pull out a few years ago, because the city had difficulty getting landowner cooperation, didn’t have all the acquired land it has now, and had no solution to the presence of propane tanks on the property.
“The great thing is that we’re not starting from scratch,” Mayor Jim Reed said.
Since 2007, the city has acquired four of the 12 land parcels needed to build the Town Center, has convinced Suburban Propane to move to Janis Way and has developed a specific plan that puts the city in the driver’s seat, Reed said.
“We’ve also got people on board who weren’t on board a couple years ago,” Reed said. “Right now, we’re cautiously optimistic about the new development team. This gives them exclusive rights to try to put a deal together in 150 days.”
Russ Pratt said that his group was sorry that things “didn’t work out” with the Town Center a few years ago, but that a lot has changed in the intervening years.
“All the things that didn’t allow us to go forward have changed, and those changes have made it possible today for us to move forward,” Pratt said.
During the 150-day agreement with the city, Pratt and Wiele will come up with a development plan, figure out the best uses for the property and make sure they are in line with the city’s specific plan for the area. They also have to come up with a funding plan and submit a concept for the property.
Pratt said the next step is to look at the kinds of tenants that would be interested in the center.
“It’s more of a downtown we’re trying to achieve,” he explained. “We’re going to think about what is the best design and look at the downtown in Los Gatos and Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz. We want to try and fill the void of what’s missing in Scotts Valley.”
Councilman Randy Johnson said that in a rough-and-tumble economy, you have to roll with the punches. Johnson said he’s comfortable with the new team.
“I think they showed a true philosophy of what a downtown should be. They’re not going to take the cookie-cutter approach and will implement the eclectic feel the Town Center should have,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that Stanbery got knocked off its game with so many projects across the country.
“But here we have two local people with statewide and national experience. Everyone is disappointed with the economy, but this is an opportunity to move forward again,” Johnson said. “One door closed, and another one opened — I feel really good about that.”
