|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The city of Pleasanton needs to do all it can to install urgency in the redevelopment of the Stoneridge Shopping Center and its surrounding parking lots.
The Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord, developed at about the same time as Stoneridge also by the Taubman Realty Group, is facing a mortgage default according to news reports. The value has plunged from $350 million in 2012 to $170 million and it’s more than 90% leased. Taubman now is a subsidiary of the Simon Property Group. Lenders were told that cash flow is not sufficient to pay the $135.7 million due in September. Cash flow, despite the occupancy, is down 39% since 2012.
The situation is even more complicated at Stoneridge with multiple property owners of the mall. I reached out to the marketing director asking the status or timeline on the city-approved plans to tear down the Sears store and the adjoining parking structure and build outdoor, two-story buildings (think CityCenter San Ramon). I did not hear back from the Stoneridge reps.
City revenues from Stoneridge have been dropping for years and the overall value of the center presumably dropping with it. Simon and Westfield, another multi-national mall operator, bought JCPenney out of bankruptcy to maintain that major presence in their centers across the country.
Personally, I am celebrating a promotion and retirement for professional colleagues. I worked with incoming Danville Town Manager Tai Williams on the Leadership San Ramon Valley board more than 20 years ago. That community board typically has had city staffers as well as elected officials joining others as directors and I was delighted to serve alongside Tai.
She steps into a job that Joe Calabrigo held for 32 years. Danville is unique among Tri-Valley cities in that it doesn’t have term limits for council members so people serve multiple terms. Newell Arnerich, another leadership board colleague, has been a councilman since 1995, seven terms. Danville also rotates the mayor’s position annually.
The other congratulations goes to Pamela Ott, Pleasanton’s assistant city manager who is retiring after 22 years, most spent in economic development where she had a huge role. Her warm personality and bright smile made her a welcome presence throughout the valley.
The Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, in a LinkedIn post, wrote, “At Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, we spend a lot of time analyzing the ‘secret sauce’ of our region — what drives innovation? Who are the catalysts behind the momentum we see in our thriving ecosystem? One name consistently rises to the top: Pamela Ott.”
The post goes on to note the key role she’d played in Workday’s headquarters next to Stoneridge mall, the economic development zone that paved the way for Costco and two new lodging properties and the 10x Genomics buildings next to the mall. The home-grown biological equipment company is particularly helpful to the city because it sells expensive equipment as well as the ongoing supplies to use it.
I had the pleasure of working with Pamela when she moved here from the Central Valley to take the leadership of the Pleasanton Downtown Association. After a couple of years there—and successful promotions between the association and my newspaper—she moved into economic development for the city and shone.
Switching gears to politics: the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority, which operates the Wheels bus system, is governed by a seven-member board (two from each city and a county supervisor). Chairs serve for a fiscal year. After two meetings trying to select a new chair, the board was split 3-3 between Pleasanton council members Julie Testa (current vice-chair) and Craig Eicher. Normally, it’s a pro-forma election for the vice-chair to step into the role, but Testa has a personality that doesn’t go down easy—thus the split. Be interesting to see what Supervisor David Haubert does when he makes a meeting—he’s the deciding vote.
