Thursday, 31 July 2008 01:47

SC Planning Commission Approves Retail at Hwy. 49 & Ridge Rd.

slide1.pngAt a time when the nation’s economy is at a crossroads, Sutter Creek leaders are opting to invest in commercial modernization. Monday night, the Sutter Creek Planning Commission approved a proposal for the ‘Crossroads Retail Development‘, a project that has been marinating on the backburner for years. The site, located at the intersection of Highway 49 and Ridge Road in Sutter Creek, has been zoned for retail development since the proposal of the ‘Sutter Station Shopping Center’ in 1991. More recently, Sutter Creek business tycoon Dennis Griffin owned the property and had it approved for 139,430 square feet of retail space in 2004. Griffin sold the property to Petrovich Development Company, the City of Sacramento’s largest overall developer, in 2006. On Monday, the planning commission voted to approve Petrovich’s proposal for a 90,560 square foot shopping center in nine separate buildings. The anchor store, Walgreen’s, will be the hub of the retail space, but the proposal also includes 2 restaurants and a total of 381 parking spaces. slide3.pngMotorists will access the shopping center through two right-in and right-out only driveways off of Highway 49 and Ridge Road. In the long term, full access is planned off of Highway 104 as well as off of Bower’s Drive, with the construction of the Gold Rush Ranch and Golf Resort. The Crossroads retail development is also notably the first commercial development that is subject to Sutter Creek’s recently implemented Architectural Guidelines. The easterly façade of Walgreen’s, which will face Highway 49, will incorporate false metal shutters, mimicking those gracing the façades of several of Sutter Creek’s historic downtown buildings. In addition, the development will include a courtyard “community space,” and will incorporate a total of 39 oak trees into the landscape plan. With the Planning Commission’s stamp of approval, the development plan will now be submitted to the City Council for final approval. Construction may begin sometime next year.