Developer asks Suisun City for more time

From Daily Republic // Oct. 18, 2005

By Ian Thompson

SUISUN CITY - The developers chosen by the Suisun City Council to reinvigorate Main Street's economy with new development are asking for more time to come up with their plan.

Main Street West Partners is also asking the council to waive a requirement that it get a commitment from a major tenant before moving forward.

Getting the major tenant was one selling point that prompted Suisun City to start exclusive negotiations with Main Street West Partners, which is made up of local developer Mike Rice and Frank Marinello of Marinello Real Estate.

“It is just more time to come up with a better site plan,” Suisun City Redevelopment Director Al da Silva said of the extension.

The developers were trying to land a tenant for what they called the Main Street West project's “centerpiece anchor,” but a final agreement was never reached despite several tours and phone conversations.

Instead, the developers are looking to put multiple yet-to-be-named businesses into that centerpiece location, according to a letter from Main Street West Partners.

“We believe a viable alternative to the single-anchor concept is to locate multiple synergistic uses in the centerpiece/anchor portion of the project,” Main Street West partner Frank Marinello wrote in his letter to the council.

Da Silva said this change gives the developers “more flexibility to come up with an attraction for the core project.”

Rice doesn't see this change as an obstacle in the Main Street West project, saying plans are moving ahead well.

“It is just a change in what we see as the core development area,” Rice said.

“It is not a major change. It goes from a single user to multiple tenants,” da Silva said. “As far as I am concerned, this is an improvement.”

Suisun City created the West of Main plan in January in an effort to use city-owned property downtown as an incentive to bring in a master developer to revive the downtown's redevelopment efforts.

Rice and Marinello beat out 20 other developers who put in proposals to enter exclusive negotiations early in the summer to bring in new retail and live-work developments.

The city council, which also sits as the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency, meets tonight at 7 p.m. in the Suisun City Council chamber at 701 Civic Center Blvd.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.