Quick Take

A Silicon Valley developer has proposed demolishing the historic downtown Santa Cruz home of The Catalyst nightclub and erecting a new seven-story, mixed-use building, Jessica M. Pasko reports in her weekly survey of local business. She's also got news from the Westside, on the local wine industry and more.

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Proposed multi-story downtown development would tear down building that houses Catalyst nightclub

A Silicon Valley developer has proposed demolishing the historic downtown Santa Cruz building that currently houses The Catalyst nightclub to build a new seven-story, mixed-use building, where the club could reopen. 

That’s according to the pre-application that GPR Ventures filed with the City of Santa Cruz last month. The developer would tear down 1009 and 1011 Pacific Ave. as well as a third adjacent building that’s been vacant for many years. Approximately 14,622 square feet of ground-floor space in the new building would be earmarked for The Catalyst, along with a 3,000-square-foot mezzanine. Floors 4 through 7 could house 11 units each, while floors 2 to 3 would each have 10 units, according to the plans.

The Catalyst occupies 1009 and 1011 Pacific Ave., where previous owner Randall Kane relocated the storied nightclub to in 1976. Formerly a bowling alley, it’s one of the oldest buildings in downtown Santa Cruz. Originally built as two adjoining buildings in 1938, the properties merged in 1974. Heirs of Kane, who owned the building and died in 2009, listed it for sale for $4.55 million in July. The music venue’s current lease with the business’ owner, Usually Hip, Inc., is set to expire in mid-2028 with no further options to extend, and any new building owner would have to honor the existing lease until its end. 

Reuben Helick, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, which was contracted to sell the building, confirmed previously that the building was in escrow, but said he legally couldn’t say who the seller was.

GPR Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based real estate investment firm, is named on the pre-application, but the company did not return calls or emails from Lookout. According to the company’s website, GPR owns property in California and seven other states, including industrial, multifamily and office buildings. 

The pre-application will undergo review by the city’s planning department, to provide feedback to the developer, city staff said Tuesday, and a community meeting is required to be held in the upcoming months.

This isn’t the first proposal to tear down buildings on that stretch of Pacific Avenue to make way for residences. Previously, the owners of 1013 Pacific Ave. sought to tear it down and replace it with a four-story mixed-use development, according to a Santa Cruz Sentinel article from 2017, but that plan didn’t move forward.

ICYMI: The Westside boom – how a blossoming business district evolved from industrial disrepair 

Buildings once used for frozen vegetable storage and processing are now at the centerpiece of a Westside renaissance. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

Today, the Swift Street complex on the Westside of Santa Cruz is a bustling hub of activity with coffee shops, boutiques, wine tasting rooms and breweries. The Old Wrigley Building houses art galleries, technology startups and other small businesses. On any given weekend, residents and tourists throng the area. 

Those developments are still relatively new, and it wasn’t that long ago that the area was largely in disrepair, full of former food packing facilities and the long-closed gum factory. In a recent piece, Wallace Baine looked at how this industrial area has evolved in the past three decades. Read it here.

Ch-ch-changes

  • New Santa Cruz Mountains Wine District to kick off in January: Winemakers and vineyard owners in the Santa Cruz Mountains area will get a boost starting in January after the region’s new business improvement district, the Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Heritage District, got the official nod from Santa Cruz County supervisors. (See my previous story here.) Wine businesses in parts of three counties – Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Mateo – will pay an assessment fee that replaces the membership fee they currently pay to be part of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association. That money will go largely to marketing efforts for the region’s wineries, which — like others around the country — have struggled amid tariffs, rising costs and a decline in alcohol consumption. According to Keiki McKay, executive director of the winegrowers association, the first two quarters of 2026 will focus on bringing together member businesses to create a marketing plan and identify the most beneficial programs and projects.
Collective Santa Cruz founders Jalen Horne (left) and Kendall Denike will host two holiday market pop-ups in December in the former Logos Books & Records space in downtown Santa Cruz. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz
  • Holiday pop-ups take over vacant Logos, Palace Art spaces downtown: Two vacant retail spaces on Pacific Avenue will temporarily gain new life with pop-up events this winter. Events company Collective Santa Cruz will hold two holiday markets later this month inside the old Logos Books & Records building, which has sat vacant since the beloved store closed in 2017. The Santa Cruz Mountains Makers Market will hold weekly craft fairs each weekend throughout the month in the former Palace Art & Office Supply. Read more from Lily Belli here.
  • Executive director of Jacob’s Heart steps down: Watsonville-based Jacob’s Heart, a nonprofit focused on providing support services for children with cancer and their families, has launched a search for a new director. After five years leading the organization, Heidi Boynton left at the end of November to move to Austin, Texas. Director of Operations Luis Mojica is serving as interim executive director. 
  • Monterey Bay economic nonprofit awarded new grant for housing efforts: A two-year, $450,000 grant from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation will help a regional nonprofit work on tangible solutions to the housing challenges in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership is a member-supported organization that represents those three counties with a focus on economic health and quality of life issues. The organization’s leaders say adequate and affordable housing is essential to economic development. Its efforts include policy advocacy, engaging with employers and direct investment in the Monterey Bay Housing Trust, among other efforts.
  • Holiday scavenger hunt will support Seabright and Santa Cruz Harbor businesses: Looking to support businesses struggling with the Murray Street Bridge closure? Businesses in Seabright and the Santa Cruz Harbor are participating in a new scavenger hunt called Tide & Seek this holiday season. Maps are available at participating businesses including La Posta Restaurant, Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe, the Laundry Room, the harbor and Seabright locations of Java Junction, Brady’s Yacht Club, Betty Burgers on Seabright Avenue, the Crow’s Nest and its sister beach market, SUP Shack SC and Engfer Pizza Works. To play, participants seek out otter ornaments located throughout the neighborhood and track them on their map, which must be turned in by Dec. 23 for a chance to win prizes. 

Got hires, promotions, or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

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Save the date 

  • Wednesday, Dec. 3: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a holiday business mixer and food drive at Woodstock’s Pizza, 720 Front St., Santa Cruz, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Register here.
  • Saturday, Dec. 6: The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture will hold its annual holiday sale in conjunction with El Pájaro Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit small business incubator in downtown Watsonville. The events take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at locations throughout the Pajaro Valley; more details are here.
  • Sunday, Dec. 7: Cheese Shop 831 in Capitola will hold a fifth-anniversary event. The Brown Ranch Marketplace shop will have cheese tastings, games with prizes, and a raffle with proceeds going to the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. The free event takes place from noon to 4 p.m. at the shop, located at 3555 Clares St., Suite V. 
  • Thursday, Dec. 11: Hwy17 Studios will host an open house and ribbon-cutting with the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce from 5 to 7 p.m. Hwy17 Studios at 831 Almar Ave. in Santa Cruz is a new 22,500-square-foot film and event production facility. For more information, click here.
  • Friday, Dec. 12: Santa Cruz Community Credit Union will hold another open house and ribbon-cutting for its new mobile branch, this time in South County. MobiBranch is essentially a branded van outfitted with an ATM and staffed by credit union employees. The credit union introduced the van in October with a goal of helping expand affordable financial services to more communities. The vehicle will be set up outside Casa de la Cultura, 225 Salinas Rd., #4A, in Pajaro from noon to 2 p.m.

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

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Jessica M. Pasko has been writing professionally for almost two decades. She cut her teeth in journalism as a reporter for the Associated Press in her native Albany, New York, where she covered everything...