Quick Take

In her weekly look at local business, Jessica M. Pasko reports on a proposed six-story mixed-use development in Santa Cruz, Joby Aviation's latest maneuvers and names, numbers and dates to know.

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.

The column will be off the next two Wednesdays, Aug. 19 and Aug. 26, returning in September.

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

Proposal in Seabright would demolish Ace Hardware shopping center to make way for new housing units

Ace Hardware, sushi restaurant Akira and the Bagelry are among current tenants at Seabright Plaza. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

A pre-application filed with the Santa Cruz city planning department calls for demolishing the buildings on the corner of Seabright and Soquel avenues to construct a six-story, mixed-use building with up to 281 housing units. The property at 1214 Soquel Ave. was previously listed for sale for over $10 million. A broker affiliated with the listing told Lookout he couldn’t comment on whether it was sold or who bought it. In the pre-application filed with the city, the property is listed as having multiple owners, including Bright Seas, LLC and Graff Property Holdings, LLC.

This rendering was included with the pre-application for the project at 1214 Soquel Ave., but isn’t necessarily the actual proposed design for the project. A proposed design will be submitted with the formal application. Credit: City of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz-based developer Workbench has submitted two concepts for the 63,313-square-foot property that’s currently home to a shopping center that includes Ace Hardware, the Bagelry, Fog City Tattoo, Akira sushi restaurant and several other businesses. Under both concepts, all existing buildings on the property would be demolished. The first concept would replace those with a building that includes 5,000 square feet of commercial space and 173 residences for senior housing. The second concept would construct a new building with 5,000 square feet of commercial space and 281 affordable housing units. The two businesses adjacent to the parcel, Horsnyder Pharmacy & Medical Supply and the Santa Cruz Roller Palladium, currently aren’t slated for demolition under either concept, according to the proposal filed with the city.

The application is what’s known as an SB 330 preliminary application, which is for housing development projects that seek to build under the state’s Housing Crisis Act of 2019.

That means it’s “seeking to lock in the regulations in place as of the application date,” according to Santa Cruz city community development director Lee Butler. SB 330 applications lock in current regulations for a period of six months, so the applicant would need to submit a formal application in that time frame that doesn’t deviate by 20% or more from the application, according to Butler. 

Joby Aviation signs new partner, expands to Texas and makes acquisition

Santa Cruz-based electric helicopter company Joby Aviation will work with Atoms, a company founded by Travis Kalanick, the co-founder and former CEO of Uber. (Uber is also a partner of Joby’s.) The two companies will work together to identify, acquire and develop vertiport sites – essentially, like a helipad but for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles like Joby’s – in Florida, New York and Texas. 

Additionally, Joby will establish a new 45,000-square-foot facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas. The moves come as the company prepares to bring early operations of its consumer vehicles to 10 states as part of a federal program aimed at speeding up deployment of electric helicopters. Those states include New York, Texas, New Jersey and others, but not California. In an earnings call this month, Joby officials said they plan to conduct their first flights under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in September in Texas.

On Tuesday, Joby announced that it will acquire Resonant Sciences, a defense technology company based in Dayton, Ohio, for $500 million. Resonant will continue to operate under its name, led by co-founder and CEO J. Micah North, but will become Joby’s dedicated defense business. Dayton is also the site of Joby’s 700,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

Ch-ch-changes

  • Granite Construction appoints new director to board: Watsonville-based Granite Construction has named George L. Nash, Jr. to its board of directors. Nash has more than three decades of leadership experience across the energy, infrastructure and construction sectors. He most recently served as CEO of the North American region of AtkinsRéalis, a global company specializing in design, engineering and project management services.
  • Scotts Valley city manager to step down: Mali LaGoe, the city manager for Scotts Valley for the past 4½ years, has submitted her resignation. She will remain in her role through September to support a smooth transition, city officials said in a release. Administrative Services Director Stephanie Hill will serve as interim city manager after LaGoe’s departure while the city council searches for a new city manager.
  • Stockwell Cellars to close Westside tasting room: Stockwell Cellars will close its tasting room at 1100 Fair Ave. at the end of the month. The family-owned winery will continue operations, but without the Santa Cruz tasting room. The last day in service will be Aug. 30.
  • West Coast Community Bank’s new San Jose branch opens: Santa Cruz-headquartered West Coast Community Bank’s newest branch is now open at 10 Almaden Blvd. in downtown San Jose. The company announced plans for the full-service branch earlier this year, and it will serve as the bank’s flagship location in Santa Clara County. It brings the bank’s total number of branches to 10, across Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara counties.
Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz
Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz
  • National magazine lauds Dominican Hospital: U.S. News & World Report ranked Santa Cruz-based Dominican Hospital one of the best regional hospitals among more than 400 hospitals across the state. Dominican was ranked 68 out of 411 hospitals evaluated and was rated as high-performing in eight adult procedures and conditions. Read more from Hillary Ojeda here.
  • Downtown Santa Cruz plant store closing, consolidating with Silicon Valley shop: Leaf & Vine is closing its Pacific Avenue store this month after seven years in business. The store will be consolidating with Leaf & Vine’s Campbell location. Sunday, Aug. 23, is the projected last day in business at 1532 Pacific Ave.
  • Visit Santa Cruz County adds two new directors to board: Two new members were elected last month to Visit Santa Cruz County’s board of directors. Katki Patel is the director of finance for Lotus Management, where she’s worked for more than 17 years. Laura Waltz is the owner/operator of Central Coast Hospitality and has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality in Santa Cruz County. She is a return member of the board of directors and served as board president from 2018 to 2020. Each member of the tourism organization’s 25-person board of directors is selected for a two-year term.

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

What’s new on the Lookout Job Board

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  • Thursday, Aug. 13: RVS Technology Group and the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce are hosting a cybersecurity lunch seminar starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Hampton Inn, 75 Lee Rd., Watsonville. Registration and additional details available here.
  • Wednesday, Aug. 19: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a government affairs luncheon with Gabrielle Stevenson, associate deputy director of regional business development with the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. She will speak about how the office helps businesses of all sizes access state resources, navigate regulation and pursue growth opportunities. The event takes place at Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Rd. in Felton. Tickets are $75 for members and $95 for non-members. For more details or to purchase tickets, go here.
  • Thursday, Aug. 20: BetterGolf, a golf simulator and indoor practice facility, will celebrate its first anniversary at its Capitola Mall location (Suite J05) from 5 to 7 p.m. Capitola Soquel Chamber of Commerce representatives will hold an official ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m. 
  • Friday, Aug. 21: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting event for RSMD Medical Aesthetics in Capitola from 12 to 2:30 p.m. The business is located at 830 Bay Ave., Suite A. Registration and additional details are here.
  • Friday, Aug. 28 – Sunday, Aug. 30: SUP Shack will celebrate 15 years at the Santa Cruz Harbor. Trudie Ransom opened the business in 2011 as a small kiosk and has grown the business to include paddleboard and kayak rentals, lessons, tours and classes. A ribbon-cutting is slated for 2 p.m. on Friday, with an open house from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Saturday and a board-decorating event on Sunday morning. The SUP Shack is located in the main Crow’s Nest parking lot within the Santa Cruz Harbor.

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...