The owner of a mostly undeveloped property identified years ago as key to the long-term success of downtown Morgan Hill and, especially, the Third Street Promenade has finally submitted conceptual plans for the site.
Rocke Garcia, the owner of the Third Street parcel known as the Sunsweet property, requested a two-week delay on a discussion of his plans that was agendized for Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting.
The 2.5-acre property comprising most of a downtown block is bordered by Third Street on the north, Depot Street on the east, Fourth Street on the south and Monterey Road on the west.
Garcia was not ready to discuss the details this week, but his concept proposed to the commission is a multi-story development with 84 condominiums and apartments, 3,000 square feet of retail space (on the ground floor, at the corner of Depot and Third streets) and 3,000 square feet of office space on the second floor.
The commercial aspect of the project includes a bocce ball court on part of the property, at 55 E. Fourth Street, according to a City staff report prepared in review of Garcia’s proposal.
The plan consists of three- and four-story buildings, on-site parking, and a combination of public and “semi-private” open space or park uses, according to the staff report.
Exact sizes of the 84 residential units are not listed in the staff report, but most of the units (70 percent) will be larger than 1,350 square feet in size, and the rest will be smaller than that, according to the plans presented to the Planning Commission.
According to the City staff review of Garcia’s preliminary plans, the proposal does not currently meet all the existing zoning requirements for the property and the City’s overarching Downtown Specific Plan. The plans are more attuned to current market conditions – which are still difficult for large-scale mixed-use projects – rather than the City’s DSP requirements, the staff report says.
“The (DSP) repeatedly identifies the important role that Third Street serves as a connector between the (Depot Street) transit station and the heart of downtown,” the staff report says. “Commercial development along Third Street will attract pedestrian generating uses that will support the community’s long-term goals for a vibrant downtown. Downtown is the city’s most walkable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly and family oriented neighborhood.”
Garcia and City staff will present the conceptual plans again to the Planning Commission at the body’s Aug. 13 meeting, Garcia said.
Garcia and his wife Glenda are the owners of The GlenRock Group, a residential development company.
The Sunsweet property is currently used for a limited mix of private office and warehouse uses.
