Other projects around the region worthy of mentionSonoma Academy
Santa Rosa
After occupying space at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa for seven years, Sonoma Academy moved to its new permanent site at 2500 Farmers Lane just in time to begin classes on Sept. 9, 2008. The current student body of 212 is already utilizing new space in the theater and music building. When finally completed, there will be 23 classrooms and 72,000 square feet of space in three buildings (with the eventual capacity for up to 310 students) on a 34-acre parcel in southeast Santa Rosa.
The new campus has an outdoor amphitheater, an organic teaching garden, an art gallery, a gymnasium with capacity for 700, a black-box theater/music building with seating for 150 and fields for soccer or lacrosse. The master plan calls for more buildings in the future to house additional classrooms, a larger theater, a music building and a student center with capacity for up to 450 students.
Built at a cost of $35 million, campus funding was derived from individual donors including a gift of land from Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke in August 2005 valued at $8.4 million. About $33 million was acquired from tax-exempt bonds (from California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank) purchased by AIG as well as from nonprofit preferred funding and donations from four trustees.
Geyser Arts Gallery
Geyserville
Built from the ground up, this post-modern 3,000-square-foot structure at 21015 Geyserville Ave. that opened in September houses the Geyser Arts Gallery on the first floor with a residence above and an elegantly landscaped garden in back for wine receptions and special art-related events.
Owner Tom Higgins developed this gallery to be a welcome venue that regional artists can identify with as well as a place where they will showcase their handcrafted art –from concrete outdoor garden art, ceramics, oil and acrylic paintings to quilts and other creations. Gallery Director Emily Scheibal schedules different art exhibits every other month.
Architectural features include vaulted, barrel ceilings and a combination of bamboo, maple and other hardwood flooring.
Workmanship utilizes a combination of brick, stucco and tile as a “style bridge” between the 19th century Odd Fellows Hall next door and a contemporary structure on the other side. Geyserville is already home to several art centers, and Mr. Higgins hopes that someday the SMART train will stop here so visitors can tour this growing artist community.
The building design was created by Mark Quattrocchi and Ryann Schuster of Quattrocchi Kwok Architects. Blanchard Construction served as the general contractor and landscaping was provided by Geoff Beasley.
Cameron Wine Storage
Napa
The Cameron Wine Storage facility opened for business at 305 Technology Way in Napa in November with 40,000 square feet of floor space. Built at a cost of $14 million, this bulk-wine storage center has total tank capacity for 2.5 million gallons in 73 tanks with individual capacities from 20,000 to 40,000 gallons each. This strategically placed building gives large-scale Napa Valley vintners closer access to bulk-wine storage in their area.
The new enterprise is the second major venture for Butch Cameron, who has operated a tanker truck fleet serving 2,500 wineries on the West Coast for three decades. The new bulk storage facility, designed by O’Malley Wilson Westphal of Santa Rosa, will also have a 10,000-square-foot branch office for Butch Cameron Trucking and bays for cleaning and sanitizing two vehicles at a time.
Mr. Cameron is considering sites near his trucking headquarters at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport as the future location for a second bulk-wine holding area. This proposed site would also have room to store wine casegoods and would provide similar close-in storage proximity for Sonoma County vintners.
Services offered for clients’ wines at Cameron Wine Storage include micro-oxygenation and insertion of oak staves to mimic the characteristics of barrel-stored wine.
Trione Winery Renovation Project
Geyserville
A century after Frank Nervo’s old stone winery was first built it has been renovated at a cost of $6.5 million and will now serve as the hospitality centerpiece of Trione Vineyards & Winery at 19550 Geyserville Ave. A new production facility with a tasting room and wine lab, where visitors can view all aspects of winemaking, has been built next door to the 1908 structure.
Built after the 1906 quake, the old stone building became the epitome of seismic reinforcement – with a heavy chain embedded in its walls surrounding the 60-foot by 70-foot foundation and with earthquake plates installed throughout. Today this storied building has been retrofitted again with upgraded seismic safeguards.
