Petaluma Riverfront Development construction continues, hotel nearing completion

Crews and construction equipment are in full force on the more than 130 single-family homes and 122-room hotel, the first phase in a mixed development plan on one of Petaluma’s last remaining large riverfront parcels.

The 36-acre Riverfront Development near Hopper Street and Caulfield Lane sits near the Highway 101 overpass on Lakeville Highway, between the Petaluma Marina and Steamer Landing Park.

Plans for the site call for 134 single-family homes, 39 townhomes, 100 apartments, 60,000 square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a ball field, central green open space and riverfront trail, according to city planner Emmanuel Ursu.

New roads already snake through the parcel, including a city-led extension of Caulfield Lane that will eventually span the river and connect to Petaluma Boulevard South at the Crystal Lane roundabout.

“It’s intended to be a mixed use, walkable development that’s connected to the river, and eventually connect to the downtown area with pedestrian and bicycle paths,” Ursu said.

Reno-based Basin Street Properties is the project’s master developer and has had a hand in building several prominent projects in Petaluma, including the Theatre Square and Waterfront Office Building.

Work began on the project late last year, with the Courtyard Marriott hotel now approaching completion. Developer for the single-family project Tri Pointe Homes is finalizing their model homes this month, and is scheduled to begin construction on the remaining development in the next few weeks, Ursu said.

The hotel, slated to open at the end of the year, will feature an outdoor swimming pool and spa, a bistro, bar and outdoor dining area, along with meeting rooms and a fitness center.

City planners have not received plans for the remaining elements of the project.

“This project is really introducing a large amount of access to a part of town that we haven’t had access to before, and I hope we will see some more multi-family and affordable housing go in there,” said city engineer Gina Benedetti-Petnic. “But right now it’s a hotel and homes and a ballpark, so time will tell to see what other plans will look like.”

Neighboring the parcel is the 39-acre former Pomeroy cement plant, where a mixed-use riverside development is expected to house a new headquarters for Amy’s Kitchen and up to 275 new housing units.

Altogether, the two parcels are significant infill properties once used primarily for industrial purposes, and form one of the few remaining blank spots on a map of downtown Petaluma.

For Benedetti-Petnic, the development of these two sites not only represents a shift in attitudes toward industrial site placement, but is also a big win for advocates of the long-sought River Trail linking Steamer Landing and Shollenberger parks.

“The city has not had the funding to build that ourselves, so we rely on developers to piecemeal it together,” she said. “Through the park, river trail and future bridge, it could introduce this area to a range of community activity.”

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)