Council grants Town Center developer new extension

The Scotts Valley City Council approved another extension for Town Center developer Stanbery Development this week — a reflection that the anticipated project is taking longer than expected.
This marks the third amendment made to the predevelopment agreement with Stanbery, which has exclusive development rights for the Town Center project.
Councilman Dene Bustichi said the project is delayed because of the downturn in the national economy.
“Things aren’t as rosy as they were a year ago. It’s going to be tough. Retailers are just not expanding today,” Bustichi said. “That said, we still feel that Stanbery is a viable partner for us. They are not ready to give up on this thing.”
Stanbery was supposed to deposit $50,000 on Oct. 1 to add to the initial $50,000 the company deposited upon the approval of the predevelopment agreement in 2007.
However, Stanbery asked that the additional funds be postponed until the current deposit — now at $20,000 — is spent down below $5,000.
City Manager Steve Ando said the $20,000 should last for at least a year. He said the $30,000 spent in the first two years was when the project was moving at a faster pace.
“Right now, things are rather slow,” Ando said. “The amount we have now should be sufficient for the extensions.”
Stanbery was granted an extension in June 2008 to extend timelines for the project. Then in January, the city extended some timelines and postponed the requirement to submit additional deposits for city staff time in the predevelopment agreement.
There is no specific timeline for the completion of the project.
In the meantime, Bustichi said the city has done plenty in the effort to make the Town Center come to fruition, like buying the Scotts Valley Sports Center to build a new library.
“While the economy is not there, we are working to make this happen,” Bustichi said. “But when the economy is ready, we’ll be ready.”