Site of closed downtown Chevron eyed for future ?boutique hotel? with ground-level shops

The now-closed Chevron station at Petaluma Boulevard and B Street could become a 20-room ?boutique hotel? steps from Boulevard Cinemas, the Mystic Theater and other downtown destinations if developer Ross Jones wins approval for his plan.

Jones, whose family has owned a portion of the site since 1963, is also the president of Wattenbarger Associates, an architecture firm with an office in Petaluma.

He presented the project to the city?s Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee last week for an informal review, where he was encouraged to pursue a hotel on the site. The committee, which deals with projects in historic districts like the downtown core, is an expanded version of the Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee.

Jones said other than the Metro Hotel, Petaluma doesn?t have any downtown accommodations for overnight visitors, and he was inspired by the successful Hotel Healdsburg in the heart of that city?s downtown area.

?It seemed like a great location to create that kind of a message and experience for visitors,? Jones said.

His design is in the early stage, but he envisions a four-story hotel with shops along the ground level and an underground parking garage.

Rooms would have balconies so guests could look out over downtown activities and meeting rooms would be housed on a smaller fourth floor that is stepped back from the edge of the building, according to Jones? plans.

The hotel would offer valet parking, and would cater to visitors using mass transit by offering pick-ups at the downtown transit mall and future train stop, he said. The hotel may offer car-sharing vehicles like ?Zipcars? for guests, he said.

?We want to keep the vehicular traffic to a minimum,? he said.

He is talking with a potential hotel operator but doesn?t have any tenants identified yet, Jones said. His company is planning to conduct a market study to determine the best time to open the hotel, given the economy, he said.

?There?s an element of market timing that we need to do further research on,? he said.

The project is also expected to come back to the committee at least once for a formal review.

The Chevron site is not the only former gas station slated for a transformation in Petaluma. On the same day that it reviewed Jones? proposal, SPARC also approved a 7,070-square-foot commercial building at the former Union 76 station on East Washington and Wilson streets.

A city report said the one-and-a-half-story building will be positioned closer to East Washington, with parking behind, in line with the General Plan?s goal of developing an ?urban edge? along that street. No tenants have been identified for the building.

(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)

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