|
Another chance for downtown
Share
Email
Print
CommentThe announcement that the Mervyns store in Napa is soon to close is sad in several respects. Dozens of locals will be out of jobs when the department store shuts down in just a few months. Locals have lost a viable shopping option — good old McCaulou’s remains the other — in a downtown sector that increasingly caters to tourists.
But the end of Mervyns may be the biggest boost yet to those who would like to see the undoing of downtown Napa’s 1970s redevelopment.
But the end of Mervyns may be the biggest boost yet to those who would like to see the undoing of downtown Napa’s 1970s redevelopment.
No, it is not likely we will see the old Victorians and other structures return 30-plus years after they were wiped out. Yet Mervyns is about to abandon a spot that creates great opportunity for Napa.
On one side of Mervyns is the city’s outdoor bus terminal — but not for long, as the city already has plans to move the transit center across the river, near the Depot.
On one side of Mervyns is the city’s outdoor bus terminal — but not for long, as the city already has plans to move the transit center across the river, near the Depot.
On another side are city-owned parking lots just waiting for better, and perhaps more beautiful, uses.
On a third side is what was once and could again be Coombs Street, punching through from Napa Abajo and Old Town to its terminus at Napa Creek.
On a third side is what was once and could again be Coombs Street, punching through from Napa Abajo and Old Town to its terminus at Napa Creek.
To the west, across what is now Coombs Plaza, is the Napa Town Center, the pedestrian mall that has never reached its potential and has been for sale for years.
On the south side is First Street, changing in fits and starts but saddled by the empty storefronts of the Gordon and Merrills buildings and the bland, institutional wall of the Carithers building.
(The Carithers building, too, might be in for major change, as the county offices that now occupy it may someday be moved to a new site, and the county has agreed to give the city first dibs on buying, and hopefully transforming, it.)
Smart money might bet that tourist uses would crowd the ground floor of what’s to come at Mervyns, and that condos would go above.
But citizens who want something different — an accessible creekside park, an effort to locate local-serving shopping here or nearby, or a dramatic rethinking of the area from Mervyns or even the Town Center to the soon-to-depart Cinedome Movieplex — have a chance to weigh in.
The city of Napa is launching a Downtown Specific Plan, a boring phrase but a vital topic.
What it translates to is this: We have a chance to rebuild much of downtown, and we want to do better than we did in the 1970s.
The demise of Mervyns, sad as it is for some, could be the beginning of something grand.
On the south side is First Street, changing in fits and starts but saddled by the empty storefronts of the Gordon and Merrills buildings and the bland, institutional wall of the Carithers building.
(The Carithers building, too, might be in for major change, as the county offices that now occupy it may someday be moved to a new site, and the county has agreed to give the city first dibs on buying, and hopefully transforming, it.)
Smart money might bet that tourist uses would crowd the ground floor of what’s to come at Mervyns, and that condos would go above.
But citizens who want something different — an accessible creekside park, an effort to locate local-serving shopping here or nearby, or a dramatic rethinking of the area from Mervyns or even the Town Center to the soon-to-depart Cinedome Movieplex — have a chance to weigh in.
The city of Napa is launching a Downtown Specific Plan, a boring phrase but a vital topic.
What it translates to is this: We have a chance to rebuild much of downtown, and we want to do better than we did in the 1970s.
The demise of Mervyns, sad as it is for some, could be the beginning of something grand.
Join the conversation
Comment guidelines
All comments will be screened and may take several hours to be posted.
• Keep comments clear, concise and focused on the topic in the story.
• Comments exceeding 300 words will not be posted.
• Refrain from personal attacks, degrading comments or remarks that do not add to a constructive dialogue.
• Comments implying suspects in crime-related stories are guilty before they have been proven so in a court of law will be deleted.
• Do not post e-mail addresses or links except for pages on Napavalleyregister.com or government Web sites.
• Comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined.
• Comments may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.
• If you feel a posted comment has violated our guidelines, please contact dross@napanews.com or bkennedy@napanews.com
For further information on the comment guidelines, click here.
|
|
jwk wrote on Aug 17, 2008 5:42 AM:
mom2 wrote on Aug 17, 2008 10:09 AM:
musikluvr wrote on Aug 17, 2008 10:10 AM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 17, 2008 1:11 PM:
My concern about Napa involves housing that is reasonably affordable to people who work at wineries etc; housing which fulfills the needs of whatever middle class population which still exists here in Napa. If these condos end out like the Westin-hotel units which range from $400,000 to $1,174,900 for a two-bedroom unit, this will not be beneficial to Napa. These Westin units are purchased by wealthy vacationers and it doesn't help fill an employment position at a Napa Valley winery, nor does it help reduce the carbon footprint of employees commuting to these jobs in Napa. Downtown is a very appropriate location for mixed use development. "
freeport56 wrote on Aug 17, 2008 4:50 PM:
The big box department stores leave too big a footprint without parking it would be real chaos. I like the satellite parking and shuttle concept, maybe at the fair grounds with shuttles every 15 minutes??? "
Sickothis wrote on Aug 17, 2008 6:22 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 18, 2008 12:53 AM:
Any type of distant satellite parking will not work. There's a sense of security that people have, knowing their cars are not too far away. Riding a bus back and forth, something you must wait for; trying to negotiation an evening out around its schedule; I strongly feel that Napa does not have a strong enough of a downtown pull to put up with that type of inconvenience.
The River is nice but it's not exactly pretty. The concrete walkway along the river is good for strolling but it's not as though it's the Golden Gate Bridge or something. Don't forget that people generally visit Napa for the winery experience. They will stay at the Ritz and tour the Valley. Those tourists may venture downtown because of its close proximity. The downtown will still be dependent on locals, though. Make it too difficult for them and they won't come. Can downtown survive on tourism alone?
And Sickofthis, are you some kind of developer's advocate or something? You jump on every single pro development post as though you have something personal to gain from over populating this area. Why don't you disclose your real motives? "
marine1/1 wrote on Aug 18, 2008 12:15 PM:
sickothis wrote on Aug 18, 2008 12:40 PM:
My motives? Nothing shocking. I am tired of mindless no growth/slow growth deniers that haven't figured out that the people are already here, and more are coming. If we don't face reality, our roads are just going to get worse and we're going to have more ridiculous haphazard planning. I like smart growth, I look forward to there being something to do downtown, and I won't mind the new tax revenue. "
sickothis wrote on Aug 18, 2008 12:44 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 18, 2008 3:02 PM:
Let's also not forget that the soil underneath much of Napa is from alluvial fans. Building high structures on this type of soil is not a good idea. In California, we continue building high structures in earthquake sensitive soils as though the threat is non existent. I sometimes think planners have lost their minds. "
sickothis wrote on Aug 18, 2008 4:17 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 18, 2008 10:53 PM:
But you are right. The downtown area is, and has always been, typically taller buildings. We should make certain they don't get carried away with it, though. It will destroy some of the ambiance, for sure. "
sickothis wrote on Aug 19, 2008 9:42 AM: