The announcement that the Petaluma-born company signed a ?letter of intent? with Regency came just a few hours before the project?s first review before the city?s Planning Commission that night.
Commissioners reviewed the project plans and heard from members of the public, but after a crammed meeting that stretched toward midnight, decided to continue their discussions at the next meeting, Dec. 8.
Friedman?s said a Petaluma store is a long-sought dream.
?We are incredibly excited about returning to Petaluma,? said David Proctor, Friedman?s chief operating officer. The company was founded in Petaluma by brothers Benny and Joe Friedman in 1946, but left town in 1976 after a fire destroyed the store.
The decision by Friedman?s to locate a 10-acre home improvement store, garden center and lumber yard on the southern portion of the project site could require additional review by the city, but how much is not yet known.
The city will be conducting an initial study to determine if the change requires further environmental review or a more simple amendment of the current plans, officials said.
The project will still include a Target store, though there will be fewer additional retail spaces between the two larger tenants, said Ryan McNamara, a Regency investment services representative.
The company has been evaluating different sites in Petaluma in hopes of opening a store and ultimately decided that the proposed shopping center would be the best fit, Proctor said.
?We felt that being in a shopping center, rather than a stand-alone location, was better for shopping patterns,? he said.
He pointed to the company?s Ukiah location ? near a Wal-Mart, Staples and FoodMaxx, among other stores ? as a successful example.
?Retail adjacencies work very well for us,? Proctor said. ?We see (being near Target) as a very positive location.?
The company estimates that a Petaluma store could create 120 jobs and generate about $400,000 in tax revenue for the city, along with other fees.
Proctor said the company met with city officials including City Manager John Brown and Mayor Pamela Torliatt, who encouraged the opening of a store in town. Friedman?s was also considering a site on Hopper Street, near the city?s old sewer plant.
Proctor said Friedman?s is not seeking an exclusive zoning designation at the Regency site that would preclude other large-scale home improvement retailers from opening in Petaluma.
A Lowe?s store is proposed as part of another planned shopping center, Deer Creek Village on North McDowell Boulevard.
?We have not pushed for that,? Proctor said. ?Obviously, we love the concept of it, but I?m not sure how that would work.?
The Petaluma location is planned to open in August 2011. It would include an 80,000-square-foot home improvement store, a 20-square-foot garden center and a drive-through lumber yard, the company said.
The Target store proposed for East Washington Place is 139,000 square feet. Regency is proposing a total of 362,000 square feet of retail space and 16,000 square feet of office space at the center.
The environmental impact report for the project reviewed by the Planning Commission Tuesday found that the project would have significant impacts on traffic at certain intersections and along Highway 101, though city planners are recommending enhanced pedestrian, bicycle and transit access to the site to soften the traffic impact.
The commission is being asked to recommend approval of the EIR and the project to the City Council. A council review of the project is planned some time after the new year.
(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)
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