The struggling economy stalled architect Ross Jones' plans to build a "green" downtown hotel at the site of a former gas station last year, but those plans are beginning to take new steps forward.
Jones, a Petaluma resident, brought the idea to develop the site at Petaluma Boulevard and B Street into a four-story hotel before the city's Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee for informal review last year. But that's as far as the project got.
"Finances have been a part of it," said Jones, whose family has owned the site of the proposed hotel since 1963. "We've been putting it off until the expectations of economists improve. It's difficult to get investor capital when investors aren't willing to take a risk or mitigate that risk in terms of knowing that you're going to have residents for the hotel and that it will be enough to pay for your employees."
Despite the delay, Jones said the project has taken a new step forward thanks to a recent decision by the Planning Commission to extend the time a business has to receive a development permit after receiving the commission's approval or a conditional use permit.
Previously, approval gave businesses 12 months, with a maximum of 18 months with an extension, to submit building permits and start construction on a project. If an appropriate development permit was not obtained by the end of that period, the approval expired. Last month, the Planning Commission voted to change the maximum life of both the site plan approval and a conditional use permit to four years.
"That's incredibly beneficial in this market place, and even in a good market," said Jones. "You need this kind of time when you're developing an expensive and challenging project, and that's what hotels are. Having four years allows us to get the planning department approval and refine the project to get it right so that it's what it needs to be in order to be a success."
Jones' proposed hotel will be named "To:" and will have 42 rooms, including two suites on the fourth story, each with its own private outdoor spaces. There will also be a lounge area on the roof that he hopes will become a gathering place for both guests and local residents.
"We wanted to facilitate a nice public space in a private space with a penthouse view," said Jones of the lounge.
The hotel originally was going to have a lucite-bottomed swimming pool, but due to the more than $1 million it would add to the project's cost, Jones said the pool may not happen.
There are plans to include an underground garage, and a corner of the property is slated to have a large piece of monumental sculpture.
A big part of Jones' plan for the hotel is to highlight Petaluma's agricultural history, past and present, by creating a rooftop garden, which might include small farm animals, such as chickens, ducks or geese.
"Urban environments in Europe and New York have roofs that have been successfully used for a variety of different &‘green' functions," said Jones. "We're in conversation with two local companies, My Urban Farm and Terra Firma Farms, on researching to see what we can do in this space. The purpose of it is to educate people who may not think anything of Petaluma beyond the wine and antiques, that there is another agricultural layer to Petaluma."
Plans for the hotel do not include retail or a restaurant because Jones feels they should highlight the many shops and restaurants within walking distance from the hotel.
"We don't want to compete with what's already in town," said Jones. "Part of the concept, that's expressed in the name of the hotel &‘To:' is that we want people to go to other locations. When a guest checks into the hotel and the concierge learns their interest, they can direct them to local restaurants and retailers. It encourages guests to get out and take advantage of what's nearby."
Jones said that if the economy improves, he hopes to start construction on the hotel in 2013 or early 2014.
(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@arguscourier.com)
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