Vegas-based group buys undeveloped Vallejo parcel

Article Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Vegas-based group buys undeveloped Vallejo parcel

By DAN JUDGE, Times-Herald staff writer

One of Vallejo's few remaining large pieces of undeveloped land has been sold to a Las Vegas-based development group, a Napa real estate broker confirmed Tuesday.

Fourteen acres stretching along Highway 29 from Mini Drive to Meadows Plaza in north Vallejo has been sold for an undisclosed sum by Vallejo's well-known Mini family to Pacific Properties, said Gary Van Dam of Coldwell Banker Commercial Brokers of the Valley.
Van Dam represented Pacific in the sale, which was finalized May 6.

The northern end of the property has been the site of various gas stations and a real estate office over the years, but the rest of the property has remained vacant.

Pacific Properties will make an announcement in the near future regarding plans for the site, which has been owned by the Mini family since the 1930s, Van Dam said.

"My belief is they will break off a three- to four-acre component from the north end with a possible retail use and they will be doing something different with the remainder," he said.

"They are working with the city trying to figure out what everybody would like to see."

Vallejo Planning Manager Brian Dolan said the city has told several prospective buyers it would be receptive to some form of apartment or condominium project at the site if the Planning Commission agrees to change the property's zoning. It is currently zoned intensive use, which includes such uses as salvage yards.

"We have suggested to them we would entertain proposals for a high-density housing project either for sale or rental if it was a high-quality project," he said.
Pacific Properties could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the company's Web site, the firm's projects are located throughout California, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

Some of those projects include luxury golf course communities, major retail and office sites and exclusive residential communities.

- E-mail Dan Judge at UBDJudge@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6831.