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Masonite site key to Ukiah future

RETAIL, MIXED-USE CENTER PROPOSED; OTHERS WANT TO KEEP AS INDUSTRIAL SPACE

UKIAH – The redevelopment of the 85-acre former Masonite mill property on the northern edge of Mendocino County’s largest city is factoring heavily into what Ukiah will look like in coming decades.

Shopping center builder Developers Diversified Realty of Cleveland and investor David Berndt Interests of Dallas are venture partners in a bid to convert the land where the shuttered plant stood until recently into a $120 million regional retail hub. DDR owns 160 million square feet of retail space nationwide, including the Mervyn’s store in central Ukiah.

They want to take advantage of $169 million a year in retail sales the developers estimate “leak” to stores and malls in Sonoma and Marin counties. They’ve found some interested large tenants, namely Costco Wholesale, which last year broke off talks to build a store in central Ukiah. Retailers Target and Kohl’s are also interested, according to Jeff Adams, senior development director for DDR.

However, the developers have scaled back the project, called Mendocino Crossings, and incorporated elements brought up in the past couple of years during hearings on the Ukiah Valley Area Plan portion of the county’s central planning document.

Instead of 700,000 square feet of retail space originally envisioned after acquisition of the plant site from Masonite in 2006, the redevelopers now are suggesting 500,000 square feet of retail space, with a few large stores plus some shop space and restaurants.

“Early in the meetings we heard a desire for a mix of uses,” Mr. Adams said.

New to the concept are several acres of mixed-use buildings along the North State Street entrance to the development, several acres for office space or a mass-transit hub and green features such as photovoltaic arrays on buildings and LED-lit streetlights.

A formal project proposal would be submitted after the area plan is formally adopted, perhaps as soon as early next year. The county is aiming to release a second draft environmental impact report on the Ukiah Valley Area Plan component of its central planning document this summer. The board of supervisors is set to hear a progress report in early June.

Already though, the discussions on the plan and the new proposal from the Masonite site redevelopers have factored into June elections for three seats on the county board of supervisors.

A major opponent of the project is a group called Ukiah Valley Smart Growth Coalition. Spokeswoman Judy Pruden, also chairwoman of the city Planning Commission and involved in land-use planning in the valley from the early 1990s, disputes that the Ukiah Valley needs either more large retailers or the projected 700 entry-level retail jobs created in Mendocino Crossings.

Rather, the land should stay industrial, with several producers filling the space, such as a hemp-products or wood-pellet plants, according to Ms. Pruden. Retail development should be contained within the city limits, something the city is starting to tackle as it updates its general plan.

“We’re looking for the best planning opportunities for this site,” Ms. Pruden said. “We want to do it right and do it once.”

Mr. Adams contends that the county needs the estimated $1.8 million a year in sales-tax revenue the project would generate and the ability to leverage the income for public works bonds. The development partners already have put about $24 million into acquiring and redesigning property, according to public records. The projected timeframe for store openings, if the county general plan is adopted next year, would be early 2011.

“We’re very patient,” Mr. Adams said.

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