"Vallejo Crossroads" project, a 25,000 square foot mix-use Vallejo commercial complex

August 18, 2006

North Vallejo plan for Sonoma site taking shape

By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer

Development of a three-acre lot on Sonoma Boulevard between Wal-Mart and Vallejo Garbage should begin next year, city and project officials said.

The "Vallejo Crossroads" project, not to be confused with Gary Mandarich's northeast Vallejo "Crossroads" project, will be a 25,000 square foot mix-use commercial complex, said project manager Kam Shadan and assistant city planner Darren Goon. The site will include 100 parking spaces, he said.

"It will be a mini-mall with a gas station, convenience store, a fast-food restaurant and other retail stores," Goon said.

Comprised of four buildings, the estimated $15-plus million development will also include a courtyard, a water feature, and "a place to sit down, relax and shop," said Shadan, president of Mill Valley-based Gannett Fleming Project Development Corporation.

Owned by 580BPG, LLC, a Marin County-based private development group, the project is among several the firm's done or is doing in the Bay Area, Shadan said. One smaller, though similar to the Vallejo project, is planned for Livermore, Shadan said.

"We are always looking in the North Bay. Our motto is to work in the community we work and live in, to benefit the community and keep us close to our communities." he said. "This will be a very nice feature for the community."

Shadan said the project "will be a nice commercial retail service implementation for that part of town, and it will help create a little focal center for locals and those who travel along Highway 29."

Plus, he said, Vallejo needs this type of development.

It's too early to tell what types of businesses may go into the new complex, but discussions

with various kinds of businesses are under way, Shadan said.

The company plans to use local contractors wherever possible, Shadan said.

Though still in the planning stages and awaiting the results of an environmental impact study, the project will be good for Vallejo, agreed city spokesman Mark Mazzaferro.

"It takes a piece of property and puts it on the tax rolls, to produce sales tax revenues and some jobs, so it's positive," Mazzaferro said. "And it seems like an appropriate use for the spot.

The spot in question, at Sonoma Boulevard and Broadway Street, is poised for change, as Wal-Mart is expected to move to a larger store and a Home Depot has expressed interest in taking over the present Wal-Mart site, the men said.

Shadan said his partners had no idea another project with an almost identical name was planned for the northeastern part of Vallejo. But it was reported earlier this month that Mandarich Developments proposed a new commercial center, including a hotel, condominiums and offices on about 128 acres northeast of Interstate 80 and Columbus Parkway in Vallejo. It would be built near where a Lowe's home improvement store is slated for development.

* E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com