2 and 10 Petaluma Boulevard South / 313 B Street (EKN Appellation Hotel)
This lot, which has stood vacant for over 20 years, is in the process of being developed as an upscale 56-room boutique hotel, with a basement-level 57-seat restaurant and “speakeasy,” a 141-seat ground-floor restaurant, and a 105-seat restaurant/lounge on the fourth floor. It is anticipated that the restaurants will be designed by award-winning chef Charlie Palmer who is one of the project sponsors. See a description of the project here.
Development of a hotel on this site was controversial, and prompted a group of Petaluma residents to file a lawsuit against the City and seek to put a referendum measure on the ballot to overturn the City’s decision to create a zoning overlay that would have accommodated a larger hotel. Ultimately, though, the developers submitted a new proposal for a smaller hotel, which resolved the dispute. That revised proposal has been approved by the City with certain design conditions, but no final permit has been issued and no groundwork has begun.
These three vacant parcels are considered brownfields , since the land was formerly used as a gas station. With no development on them, these parcels currently bring in only $1,859 a year for the City in taxes and create no economic, cultural, or social benefit for the City. The developers estimate that, between the sales tax, property tax, and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), the project will bring in over $90 million in tax dollars for the City over 30 years. In addition, the developers anticipate creating 133 permanent jobs and generating $15.7 million annually in economic activity from the hotel’s activity. During the design and construction phases alone, they estimate the project will create 224 jobs and generate $38.6 million in economic output. Significantly, they predict that the hotel project will lead to more than 1.7% in growth across industries, particularly in the hospitality sector. See the full Economic Impact Study here.