The developers of four key downtown properties presented the details and motivation for their plans to bring new business and residential opportunities to the neighborhood at a June 30 “visioning summit” held by city officials.
Dan McCranie, owner of Ladera Grill restaurant, revealed his concept for a three-story mixed use project that will bring “classic retail” and rooftop dining to his property at Second Street and Monterey Road.
The project, which he plans to name the Edes Building, aims to “connect fine art, fine dining and fine wine,” with a focus on the history of Morgan Hill, McCranie told the audience at the Community and Cultural Center.
McCranie spoke as a member of a panel of developers at the June 30 summit, which also included fellow downtown developers Frank Leal, Ken Rodrigues and Lesley Miles.
Straying from the downtown norm, McCranie plans to develop the restaurant/lounge portion of his project on the top floor of the new building. The restaurant will include seating for up to 120 diners, and Morgan Hill’s first rooftop dining experience with a late-night lounge.
On the 10,000-square-foot first floor will be an art gallery and wine bar, that will be “physically interconnected.”
The second floor of the new project will house office and gallery space, McCranie added.
Working with the Morgan Hill Historical Society, McCranie also plans to re-create an approximately 100-year-old sign that used to identify the previous building on the site as the Edes Brothers hardware store. McCranie found the sign in the old South Valley Bikes building before he demolished it in April. Tim Edes, who still lives in Morgan Hill, now has the sign in his possession, but McCranie plans to recreate it in a modern panache on the rear wall of his new building.
The property, temporarily now the home of the city’s pop-up park which is immensely popular among small children and their parents, is recognized as one of the downtown’s most historically significant. The Edes family ran their shop there starting around 1910.
McCranie purchased the site in 2012, after it had been vacant for several years. The last occupant before McCranie purchased the building was South Valley Bikes.
His new project also hopes to capitalize on the growth of Morgan Hill as a dining destination for out-of-town visitors. He noted that his restaurant Ladera Grill, just a block down the street on Monterey Road, gains about 60 percent of its weekend revenue from customers who travel from outside South County.
He hopes to begin construction on the Edes Building by the first quarter of 2017, and finish by the end of the year.
The June 30 summit was organized by the city’s economic development staff in an effort to present the big picture result of years of planning that culminated in more than $25 million worth of infrastructure upgrades, and the awarding of titles, permits and development agreements to private developers.
A second panel at the summit focused more on public art, recreation and transportation. These panelists were Michael Mulcahy of SDS NextGen Partners; Timothy Rood of Community Design and Architects; public artist and creator of two pieces prominently displayed on the new downtown garage Gordon Huether; and Morgan Hill Community Services Director Chris Ghione.
Leal brings ‘home base’ to MH
Vintner and hospitality guru Frank Leal told the crowd that his two upcoming projects in downtown—the Granada Hotel and the re-conceptualized Granada Theater—will aim to complete the experience that visitors to his properties and the existing downtown vibe are looking for.
The four-story Granada Hotel—to be built where the vacant Downtown Mall currently sits—will consist of a steakhouse, floral shop, market hall and lobby with a wine bar on the first floor. The second floor will house conference and banquet space, a pool and spa. The third and fourth floor will each house 30 guest rooms.
Shops on the first floor will also complement Leal’s existing hospitality enterprises. These include his first venture, Leal Vineyards in Hollister, as well as Willow Heights Mansion in west Morgan Hill. These sites are popular event venues, especially for weddings and nonprofit events.
His goal is to make downtown Morgan Hill his “home base” for his hospitality ventures.
The Granada Theater is under extensive remodeling as an event venue that provides flexibility for a variety of uses, tailored to the customers’ needs. He plans to bring a “polished, Rat Pack feel” to the venue.
“You can walk in, check your coat, grab a cocktail and forget where you are,” Leal said.
To the rear of the two adjacent properties, the existing parking lot will be replaced with a landscaped courtyard with an olive grove and herb garden, Leal said.
Demolition of the Downtown Mall began July 6 in preparation for the hotel project. As a result, the parking lot behind the Granada Theater and Downtown Mall are closed permanently.
‘The Granary District’
Lesley Miles of Weston Miles Architects presented plans for her firm’s “Barley Place” residential and retail project. This development consists of 16 condominiums on the corner of East Main Avenue and Depot Street; the Running Shop and Hops retail store, which will sell up to 50 varieties of craft beer when it opens in August; a wine and cheese shop; and a restaurant.
The development, along with the existing Granary building that Weston Miles redeveloped in 2008, will form the “Granary district” neighborhood, Miles explained.
Weston Miles has already developed a number of key sites in and around the downtown. These include the Skeels building on the corner of Third Street and Monterey Road (which houses Ladera Grill on the ground floor), the train depot which is the home of Jonty’s restaurant and the Cornerstone building (across the street from Skeels).
The focus on these projects has always been to promote community living, where residents and workers can walk or bike almost everywhere they need to go, Miles told the summit audience.
Walkability key to future
Architect-turned-developer Ken Rodrigues, partnering with Don Imwalle, touted his upcoming project at Third Street and Monterey Road as an effort to “activate the street” with extensive outdoor patio dining with four restaurants that take advantage of the area’s temperate climate.
Rodrigues and Imwalle will bring four restaurants owned by the Opa! Group to the half-acre site: Opa Greek restaurant, Tac-Oh!, Willard Hick’s steakhouse and Mo’s Burgers and Breakfast.
The developers of this property—the former site of Simple Beverages liquor store—plan to start construction this summer, according to city staff.
The Simple Beverages, Downtown Mall and Granada Theater properties were purchased by the Morgan Hill Redevelopment agency in 2008 and 2009. The RDA, run by the city council, purchased the properties in an effort to bring the type of mixed-use projects now envisioned by their current owners.
McCranie said and other developers agreed, in response to a question from the audience, that Morgan Hill is becoming more of a walking community. This aspect of the growing city is highlighted in the developers’ and the city’s vision, which includes more housing downtown.
“More housing makes this a 24-hour downtown,” Rodrigues added.
Not represented at the June 30 summit was City Ventures, who will develop the Depot Center property (also known as the BookSmart center) on Depot Street between Second and Third Streets. City Ventures is planning a 29-unit housing project with 8,500 square feet of condominium/retail space facing Third Street. Demolition on that project is expected to begin this summer, according to city staff.
Morgan Hill Economic Development Manager Edith Ramirez said these property owners will spend more than $50 million on the downtown projects.
