What’s up with Downtown Santa Cruz development? Panel discussion Tuesday morning to hit some highlights
Quick Take
The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz has put together a virtual Zoom panel to update residents on plans and progress of various projects. You can tune in on Tuesday, April 6, at 8:30 am.
Downtown Santa Cruz is going to look a lot different over the course of the next five years; several new development projects are underway to increase housing availability and revamp retail in the heart of the city.
Some developments are still going through the application process, while others have already gotten the green light from the Santa Cruz City Council.
And then there’s that whole matter about the potential for a permanent arena for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The Downtown Association of Santa Cruz has put together a virtual Zoom panel to update folks on plans and progress. It’s set for Tuesday, April 6, at 8:30 am.
You can click here to attend the event on Zoom. The meeting ID is 870 5540 4700. The passcode is 1234.
Besides hearing from Santa Cruz Warriors president Chris Murphy about the potential redevelopment of Kaiser Permanente Arena, attendees will hear project overviews from several developers and city officials.
Here are the developments that will be discussed:
Pacific Station
Location: Pacific Ave and Front St.
Residential units: 100
Status: Approved
Description: This project involves converting multiple parcels (including the downtown Metro station) into a 93,000 square-foot, seven-story mixed use building. The plan includes 100 apartments for households with incomes ranging from 30% to 60% of area median income. In addition to the affordable housing, there will be retail and office space on the first and second floors on Pacific.
Front Street Apartments
Location: 530 Front Street
Residential units: 170
Status: Application filed, not approved
Description: This project aims to demolish existing commercial buildings to construct a six-story multi-use building with 170 residential units. Plans call for a single-level parking garage wrapped with more than 10,000 feet of commercial space on the ground floor, with more retail space on the second floor, plus a raised outdoor courtyard.
Pacific, Front & Laurel
Location: Laurel St. between Pacific Ave and Front St.
Rsidential units: 205
Status: Approved
Description: This project is tearing down several buildings in order to erect a seven-story, mixed-use building. The development will provide 205 residential units along with two floors of parking and retail space. There will also be an outdoor lounge and recreation area above the 5th floor for residential use.
Riverfront development
Location: 418 - 508 Front Street
Residential units: 175
Status: Approved
Description: This project plans to combine five parcels of land, demolish two commercial buildings, and construct a set of three seven-story mixed-use buildings. The ground floor will provide over 11,000 feet of retail space.
Downtown Library development
Location: Between Cedar, Lincoln and Cathcart streets
Residential units: Not yet determined
Status: Approved
Description: The new library will anchor a mixed-use development with at least 50 affordable housing units and a 400-space parking garage; the exact number of units is to be determined. In October, city council members hired Griffin Structures, a firm with experience designing municipal buildings and libraries, to oversee design of the development. As those plans come together, specific elements of it will go back before the council for discussion and approval.
Other projects: Additional initiatives to be discussed include the Cedar Street Apartments, at 524 Cedar St., represented by Matt Tunney of Pacific Union Partners, and the 418 Project, which has plans to move to 155 River Street South, the old Riverfront Theater.