Empty since a fire gutted its interior two years ago, the former Goodwill thrift store at downtown Petaluma?s main corner could be reborn as a better fit with its historic surroundings.
The new property owner wants to renovate the bland, uninspiring front facade into something that closely matches the original look of the 100-year-old building, undoing decades of modernizing work that kept the site changing with the times.
The proposal will be reviewed by city designers today, June 26, along with plans for apartment projects farther north on the Boulevard ? one of which would tie in to a new bridge across the Petaluma River.
Plans for the former Goodwill site call for double-entry doors, large plate-glass windows and an ornate cornice and parapet at the front of the building.
?Hopefully, when we?re done with it, it will be a beautiful addition to the downtown,? said architect Rick Brereton, representing building owner Andrew Tam, whose family owns an import business in San Francisco.
Tam?s Old Shanghai import store sells Asian decor, home furnishings, clothing and accessories. Although Brereton?s conceptual drawings show the former Goodwill site as another ?Old Shanghai,? he said the final use of the site hasn?t been decided.
But in addition to retail space on the main floor, the plans call for a small apartment on the second story, and potentially a third tenant in the large basement that opens onto Water Street.
?Eventually, we?d like to see something go into that basement space that could face Water Street,? Brereton said. Several other property owners along that block of the Boulevard have already updated the rear entrances of their buildings as ?second fronts? that face the Petaluma River.
The proposal for the old Goodwill site will be the first item on the Thursday, June 26 full agenda for the Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee, which will also discuss two other project proposals along the Boulevard.
Due to the Tam building?s location in the historic downtown core, SPARC will be meeting as the Historic and Cultural Preservation Committee, which includes two members from the historic-preservation community, when it discusses that item.
The mural along the building?s north side will not be affected by the restoration work, since it is painted on a separate wall that is owned by the city, the community development department said.
A city staff report recommends approval of the renovation plans, noting that they meet federal guidelines for historic preservation and that fire sprinklers must be installed as part of the work.
The former Goodwill store burned early on the morning of July 9, 2006, when a sofa discarded outside its rear entrance was set on fire. Witnesses saw two young men run-ning away from the burning sofa, but no one was ever arrested.
The Goodwill later re-opened a Petaluma store on Lakeville Street.
In addition to the Tam project, SPARC will conduct two ?preliminary reviews? for projects that have not yet submitted formal applications. Such reviews are designed to give developers early feedback on whether their plans meet with the city?s goals.
The first project is a high-density, mixed-use development along Oak Street between Petaluma Boulevard North and the river, called North River Landing.
The former site of Silva?s Appliances and currently home to several businesses and a car wash, the project calls for an 80-unit assisted living facility along the river and 115 apartments above commercial space closer to the Boulevard.
Chris McCarthy, the son-in-law of property owners Mel and Betty Silva, is the general manager of the project, which he said was created as an investment partnership for the Silvas? four daughters.
If approved, North River Landing would be the largest development in the Central Petaluma Specific Plan area since the completion of the Theatre District.
The assisted living facility is a needed type of development in Petaluma that will work well with the constraints of the site, south of the Hunt & Behrens feed mill and across the river from Dairymen?s Feed, McCarthy said.
Under the plans, Oak Street would be extended east across the river to connect with Copeland Street, in line with the city?s new General Plan, and North Water Street would be extended north to the project site.
The new grid of streets would allow access to what McCarthy called a new neighborhood that is ?an extension of downtown.?
SPARC will also be getting an early look at an affordable-housing project proposed farther north on the Boulevard, on a vacant lot between the sheetmetal workers union hall and the new site of Lakeville Autobody, now under construction.
Burbank Housing, a Sonoma County developer of affordable housing including Round Walk Village and Old Elm Village in Petaluma, is proposing a 66-unit apartment project there, to be called ?Logan Place.?
The project would include a sport court, tot lot and community room for residents, according to Burbank?s preliminary plans.
The SPARC meeting begins at 3 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 11 English St.
(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)
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