The Terraces

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Dear Planning Commission,
I know it’s early in the game, and there is much to be determined, but I feel compelled to share some thoughts and questions about The Terraces. I am sorry I can not make your meeting tonight, so this letter must suffice.
Will ‘The Terraces’ project at 330 Center St. serve the residents of Healdsburg by supporting a downtown that functions as a downtown, that is, as a place to shop, meet, eat and work? Or will it further define the plaza as “tourist zone” instead?
I think The Terraces project, as we currently understand it, offers three strong positives: increased retail storefront opportunities downtown, housing mixed into the commercial area of the plaza and finally, filling a long vacant hole in what should be a dense commercial zone.
But there are suspicions being discussed about this project that I would like to air here. Many are questioning the motivation for building a 5 room hotel, especially when an expensive parking lift mechanism must be included to satisfy the city’s requirement for on-site guest parking.  
Some worry that such a hotel must court only an extremely wealthy clientele to survive. But I’m not interested in splitting hairs between hotels for the very rich (which we have in abundance) and hotels for the mega rich.
Without knowing anything about the actual business plan here, this project  looks nothing like a long-term income producing business aimed at serving a community needs or addressing a lack that residents wish to be filled. Rather, it seems the sort of project that fills the needs of a collector rather than an entrepreneur. Like a silver nugget in an ostentatious investment portfolio. 
Despite admittedly prohibitive zoning restrictions, this project is allowed and there are no glaring red flags. The downtown, in my opinion, is the right place for a 4 story building.
The question I think we need to explore is, are boutique portfolio properties helping to drive property values and commercial rents up artificially? I think so. If so, this is a trend that can severely hamper the entrepreneurial drives of residents wanting to open a downtown business, especially a business that does not rely on tourist income to survive. That is, one that addresses the shopping and entertainment needs of our neighbors here in town.
Chris Herrod
Healdsburg

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