Only In Marin
Theaters close, condos stall and missing tequila By Bill Meagher
C inemark has rolled the closing credits on its Northgate mall by its owners Merlone Geier Partners, which won approval Dec. 2 from the San Rafael City Council for the proposed Northgate Town Square project. The ambitious project proposes to dump the retail concept in favor of 1,422 housing units with a bit of Northgate movie theaters, casting a bit of mystery on the redevelopment of the
In media reports, Fotsch said the city is simply trying to stop the project and it may not have a solid legal
The author of this column is a contributing editor with this fine periodical and is a senior reporter at The Deal, a Manhattan-based digital financial news outlet. He wishes everyone a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Hagar told the New York Times that “Guy and I are not the type to sit back and whine over spilled tequila. Our distillery is working day and night right now to replace as much stock as we can.” g were told to forget about the east coast and instead deliver the Mexican liquor to a storage facility in the City of Angels. Once it was delivered it disappeared like the 49ers playoff hopes, but with fewer injuries. foundation for its objections. She also said her project could help revitalize a declining downtown. A love affair between downtown merchants and Fotsch is no doubt blossoming as you read this. The city’s letter also said the affordable units differ greatly from the market rate condos in size, design and location. But O’Neill points out that the market and affordable units don’t have to be equal under the law. Since this is Marin, there is a formal group, Save Our Sausalito, which gathered more than 2,000 signatures to fight the project. O’ Neill disagreed with the city’s take. “The city’s conduct is clearly intended to frustrate the proposed project, which is intended to bring a significant amount of housing to the city and revitalize a financially declining downtown.” The above quote is provided as a public service so that all intentions are clear. Your Marin Moment When you are in the tequila business, you expect some headaches—with some of those triggered by thoroughly testing your product. But when two truck loads of primo tequila disappear, now you have a million-dollar headache. Just ask Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri, the founders of Santo Tequila. Hagar, who calls Marin one of his many homes, and Sonoma’s Fieri, are busy playing detective as they try to figure out how two trucks bound for Pennsylvania from Mexico ended up in L.A. and then disappeared. The shipment contained 240 bottles Extra Anjeo Single Barrell, at $119 each, the most expensive tequila the pair has created to date. All told more than 24,000 bottles went missing. The booze was bound for a warehouse in Penn. when the drivers
mixed-use and a town center gathering spot. The multi-screen cinema complex was part of that formula. But Cinemark elected to not renew its lease and Merlone Geier was taken by surprise with the new vacancy. For Cinemark, it’s the third time the company has elected to shutter one of its theaters in Marin. COVID hit the company hard as it closed 50 venues across the United States. Locally, it closed the Century Regency 6, also in Terra Linda, last November; Century Larkspur closed in 2022. Credit where it’s due, however. The Marin IJ reported that while the San Francisco-based developer wasn’t on the need-to-know-list, it rose to the occasion when some quality spin was required. “Although this news came as a surprise, we see it as an exciting opportunity to welcome either an innovative entertainment concept, a new theater operator, or other compelling new retail tenants as part of our revitalization efforts. In any scenario, we are confident that the Northgate Town Square redevelopment project will attract strong interest from a variety of exciting potential tenants.” The redevelopment has fans that applaud new housing being added in San Rafael including some affordable units, while critics question if the proposed project is out of scale and will produce too much traffic. With its recent approval from the San Rafael City Council, the new venture could break ground in 2025, though a finished product would push beyond 2040. Condo worries Linda Fotsch would like to build some housing in downtown Sausalito; 50 units to be exact. Her vision would be to construct condos that include 14 affordable units as well as five retail spaces and a parking lot. The project would be 85 feet tall, seven stories and be built on the city’s main drag, Bridgeway. It would be called Waterstreet. To the City of Sausalito, it sounds a little more like Waterworld , the 1995 movie flop starring Kevin Costner on a post-apocalyptic planet. The city sent a missive to Fotsch and her lawyer Brian O’Neill, advising them Sausalito has some issues with the proposed development revolving around the project’s density as well as the location. The letter is 18-pages long—and they say nobody writes anymore.
January 2025
NorthBaybiz 21
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