Community Corner

Petaluma Architect Moving Forward With Plans to Build Green Hotel Downtown

Getting ready to submit architectural plans to city; could great ground in 2014

 

Petaluma architect Ross Jones is moving forward with plans to build a four-story, 50-room hotel in downtown Petaluma.

The 42,000 square foot To:Petaluma hotel would feature a contemporary design and be located at the corner of Petaluma Boulevard South and B Street.

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Offering rooms in the low $200s range, the hotel will feature green elements such as low-flow toilets and water efficient showers, along with a rooftop garden where guests can mingle at night over drinks or in the morning over the juice bar.

When Jones first announced plans to build the hotel in 2010, he made waves by saying he would put animals on the roof to give visitors more of a farm experience and connect them to the local “slow food” movement. He still wants to do that, but admits that having ducks, chickens and other small animals mingle with visitors requires “more of an effort and commitment.”

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“Seeing animals when you come in the door can have a welcoming effect, kind of like when you come home and your dog greets you,” Jones said.

The project would have broken ground earlier but was held up by the economic slowdown, which made obtaining capital challenging. Jones says the situation has improved and he expects to submit his design plans to the city in the next month or two.

Each room at To:Petaluma will be designed differently and feature works by local artists including Ricky Watts, Roberta Ahrens, ironworker Aurelio Lofaro, mosaic artist Pippa Murray and Michael Miller and Brenda Walz.

Jones has a very personal connection to the site, which has been in his family since 1963. The parcel previously housed a Chevron gas station, which closed in 2009. Soil remediation is expected to start this spring and be completed by the fall. And if all goes according to plan, the site would break ground in early 2014 and be open for business by 2015.


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