Scotts Valley Times: February 2013
Representatives from the Pleasanton-based Property Development Centers, the development arm of Safeway, met with Scotts Valley Residents on Wednesday, January 30. Their purpose was to answer questions about the long-planned Scotts Valley Town Center.
According to Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson, “The turnout numbered about 65 citizens whose mood was respectful but who posed tough questions to Deborah Karbo, vice president of development for Property Development Centers (PDC) and Tom Fitzpatrick, development representative for PDC. It was made clear to them that the citizens and the City of Scotts Valley will not sacrifice their vision of a multi-purpose development that will retain the character of our community for expediency or just for increased city revenues.”
The concept of a 17-acre mixed-use retail and residential development fronting on Mount Hermon Road and occupying the balance of the Skypark property called Town Center has been simmering for several years. But the weak economy and the lack of a developer with the money to self-finance such a project has provided an almost insurmountable barrier to achieving successful development.
The city’s long-held vision would have about 150,000 square feet of retail space to be rented by local and national retailers. A Safeway store as the anchor for the project would occupy about 50,000 square feet. In addition, residential development would include affordable housing and senior apartments. The final element of open spaces for community events and gatherings would make this indeed a “Town Center.” The size of the proposed project and the commitment by the City to oversee the design gave most of those present confidence that the result would not be just an oversized strip mall.
As PDC intends to not only to be the buyer of the property, but also the developer and the manager/landlord of the completed property, many of the obstacles to a Scotts Valley Town Center will have been overcome. First, the 17 acres must be purchased from three landowners; 7.2 acres of the Skypark airport owned by the city of Santa Cruz, property owned by the Scotts Valley Redevelopment Agency, and that held by the City of Scotts Valley.
Scotts Valley City Councilmember, Jim Reed pointed out, “The state has abolished all the state’s redevelopment agencies and directed them to sell off their assets and we believe both the Cities of Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley are amenable to a purchase by a qualified buyer in order to move the project forward. We are very optimistic that we have found a developer that is just as excited about this addition to Scotts Valley as are the residents.”
PDC does not yet have a concrete design in place for the project as that was the primary purpose for the meeting to get community input, but expects to return in 2-3 months with a design concept to present to the City and its citizens. PDC has just another 4 months of their exclusive agreement with the city to come up with an acceptable concept before the property could go into escrow for acquisition.
Both Johnson and Reed agreed that the first elements of the Town Center could be finished and in operation in as little at 2-3 years. Johnson said, “PDC has the economic muscle to make this all happen. We are very pleased that they seem as anxious as we are to bring the Town Center expeditiously into reality.”
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