Suisun City Public Works Reissues Main Street Project Bid Announcement

SUISUN CITY — The Suisun City Public Works Department has re-issued the bid documents for the Main Street Rehabilitation Project that is expected to take place during the upcoming summer construction season.

The project, which has an estimated bonding value of $600,000, is funded by a grant through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The project entails making major repairs to Main Street from Solano Avenue to near Lotz Way. In areas where the subgrade has settled, pavement, curb, gutters and sidewalks will be replaced. When that work is completed, the entire street will receive a pavement overlay and new street markings.

The Main Street Rehabilitation Project follows the 2009 Sunset Avenue Rehabilitation Project in which the entire length of Sunset Avenue was resurfaced from Highway 12 to Railroad Avenue.

Public Works staff will coordinate construction scheduling carefully to minimize impacts to both Waterfront District businesses and nearby residents. A project page will be added to the Public Works website so everyone interested in the project can follow key developments.

For contractors, follow this link for more information.

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>>Read more about Suisun City's efforts to improve and maintain local streets>>

JAZZ CLUB PERMIT APPROVED BY PLANNING COMMISSION

UPSCALE ENTERTAINMENT CLUB UNLIKE ANYTHING IN THE REGION

SUISUN CITY - A jazz and entertainment club was approved Tuesday for the new Harbor Square development in the heart of Suisun City's Waterfront District.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a permit that could pave the way for the first upscale live music and entertainment club to locate in the rejuvenated Waterfront District.

Proposed for a 3,500-square-foot ground floor space at the corner of Main Street and Solano Street, the new club is expected to complement both existing restaurants in the area and the new Cast Iron Grill & Bar, which will open later this summer in a neighboring Harbor Square suite.

"The proposed lounge is a compatible fit and will help enhance and promote bringing people downtown to enjoy the promenade, our restaurants and listen to some live jazz or similar type of music," according to the planning staff report to the commission.

Local businessman Demetrius Mance wants to open the upscale music club tentatively named Demitri’s Lounge by the Bay to provide an entertainment option not available anywhere else in the region. Though Suisun City has had successful outdoor concerts for years, the lounge will take that experience to the next level indoors and year-round. >>READ MORE>>

First Harbor Square Business Opens

SUBWAY SANDWICHES FIRST BUSINESS IN NEW COMPLEX

Subway Sandwiches opened today as the first operation to open in the new Harbor Square complex at the corner of Main Street and Solano Street in the Suisun City Waterfront District.

Though it was a rainy and dreary day, the new sandwich shop appeared to be doing fairly brisk lunchtime business on its first day. No doubt a front-page mention in the Daily Republic this morning helped some.

Harbor Square is a nearly 40,000-square-foot mixed use building located in the heart of the Waterfront District. The complex, arranged around a central courtyard, offers restaurant and retail space on the ground floor with office space on the second. [For leasing information, contact Main Street West Partners.]

Stop by for a sandwich and welcome the newest business to open up in the Suisun City Waterfront District.

Supporting Our Economic Partners

Moving redevelopment projects forward during a time of economic turmoil is one of the most challenging aspects of any long-term effort.

Since 1989, Suisun City has rebuilt the Waterfront District into a terrific regional destination. We've seen many successes:

• Established restaurants with solid regional reputations,
• A new hotel expected to open this summer,
• Harbor Square, with 40,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and office space, is nearly complete, and
  
• Totally unique Class A office space overlooking a scenic marina yet just a short walk from the nation's third busiest commuter rail line.

But there is more to be done.

Since 2005, the Suisun City Redevelopment Agency has worked with Main Street West Partners to convert 13 long-vacant parcels into active restaurant, retail, office, residential and live-work uses. We are looking at more than 60,000 square feet of new restaurant and retail space, plus more than 32,000 square feet of office space. This is a true public/private partnership in which each party builds on the strengths and resources of the other to create a strong economic engine for the entire community.

On Tuesday, the Redevelopment Agency Board took steps to better position our Waterfront District to take advantage of the future recovery from the current nationwide economic challenge. We will spend $722,000 to buy back parcels previously sold to Main Street West Partners, and provide a $500,000 line of credit against future proceeds of housing units to be built within the Waterfront District. (The original agreement required Main Street West Partners to provide this money to assist new businesses as the new homes were sold.)

This will have three major benefits:

• All the parcels originally owned by the Redevelopment Agency will remain within its control.
• It will allow Main Street West partners to work with private investors and banks to secure financing to proceed with planning other parts of the project.
• Main Street West Partners will have access to cash to help lease existing space within Harbor Square.
  

Main Street West Partners has secured approvals to build a second retail, restaurant and office building on Main Street across from Harbor Square, a two-story restaurant on Solano Street and the Promenade, and a 16 home subdivision on Lotz Way east of Civic Center Blvd. When the economy rebounds, those parcels will be sold back to Main Street West and the projects are ready to go.

During this slack time in the housing market, Main Street West Partners can work on the process of entitling the former Crystal Middle School site on Cordelia Road and vacant land along Civic Center Boulevard for future housing. When demand for new housing returns, those projects would be ready to build.

We've worked our way through several recessions in the past. We are confident we will successfully navigate this one, too. When the recovery comes, we're determined to be ready to pounce.

Sandwich franchise coming to Waterfront District

By Carol Bogart Daily Republic

SUISUN CITY - Subway Sandwiches has signed an agreement with Main Street West Partners to lease space in the Suisun City developer's Harbor Square project.

The mixed use retail/office building is under construction at the corner of Main and Solano streets.

Main Street West Partners co-manager Frank Marinello said the sandwich franchise is one of two tenants signed so far and that negotiations are in progress with several others. The building's shell should be completed by September.

Taste of Vacaville coming to Suisun City

By Carol Bogart

SUISUN CITY - If you have been going to Vacaville to dine at the restaurant that Daily Republic readers have voted that city's best the past three years, you might be able to enjoy a similar dining experience in Suisun City by November.

Merchant & Main Grill and Bar owner Bob Tooke has signed a lease to open a 4,000-square-foot restaurant in Harbor Square at Solano and Main streets in Suisun City's Waterfront District.

Tooke said the restaurant's look and menu won't be identical to Merchant & Main's, but he added the as-yet unnamed restaurant will resemble Merchant & Main in that it will be 'casual, comfortable and fun.' The new restaurant will accommodate 130 to 140 diners.

Tooke believes his new restaurant will draw from Suisun City, Fairfield and some of the '30,000 cars that pass by daily on Highway 12,' he said.

For the complete article, visit the Daily Republic web site.

Media: Harbor Square begins to take shape in Suisun City

By Carol Bogart | Daily Republic

SUISUN CITY - Metal scaffolding rises from the construction site, framing has begun, and Harbor Square is quickly taking shape at the corner of Main and Solano streets in the city's Waterfront District.

The office/retail/restaurant complex is being developed by Suisun City-based Main Street West Partners. Managing partners Frank Marinello and Mike Rice said the 40,000-square-foot, two-story building is on track to open in September as projected.

Harbor Square will lease space in the range of $2 per square foot per month, Marinello said, and have as many as 10 offices on the second floor, ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet. There will also be an open courtyard.

Marinello said no two restaurant tenants will offer the same cuisine. He believes the addition of dining options may bring more patrons to existing establishments such as the Athenian Grill and Babs Delta Diner.

Ground will be broken next month on the 102-room waterfront Hampton Suites Hotel, said Marinello, who added the hotel won't have a restaurant. The hotel's patrons will be able to walk to what will soon be an array of restaurant choices.

Also within walking distance of new waterfront amenities will be people who buy one of 16 homes in a Lotz Way development, which Rice and Marinello said will break ground later this year.

Rice said Main Street West is sufficiently optimistic about the future of the housing market that the developer hopes to build as many as 80 homes on a waterfront parcel located between City Hall, the lighthouse and the new hotel, which is slated to open in spring 2009.

Suisun City is uniquely situated to take advantage of its waterfront appeal, Marinello said, in that it has Solano County's only commuter rail, the Capitol Corridor. He points to a growing demand from consumers for mass transit that is within walking distance of coffee shops, stores and restaurants.

'It's all walkable,' he said.

Main Street West Partners controls 14 parcels in Suisun City, Marinello said, and planned developments 'represent a $100 million investment in Suisun.'

Harbor Square is currently in discussions with multiple high quality potential tenants, Marinello said. Once the building opens in the fall, 'I'm confident it will be filled soon thereafter,' he said.

Reach Carol Bogart at 427-6955 or at cbogart@dailyrepublic.net.