Partners hope to transform bland AT&T structure into glass beauty
By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter
Rendering of the proposed renovation of the existing former AT&T building in downtown Santa Rosa called Museum on the Square. The first floor would accomodate Sonoma County Museum, and five floors of apartments would be built on top. (images courtesy of TLCD Architecture)
SANTA ROSA — The five-story vacant AT&T telecommunications switching building in the heart of the downtown area could become a 10-story glass-skinned work of modern art with apartments, offices, museum and restaurant under a proposal city redevelopment officials are considering.
Called Museum at the Square, the plan put forward by project partners Hugh Futrell Corp. of Santa Rosa and TLCD Architecture also of Santa Rosa calls for replacing the windowless north and south walls of the building with glass and building five more stories with 40 apartments on top of the existing structure. The residential portion would be called The Lofts at Museum on the Square.
Project structural engineer MKM & Associates found that both walls could be removed and there was enough internal bracing to not only hold the building up but provide a foundation on the roof for the next five stories, according to Bill Carle of Hugh Futrell Corp. The building was erected to protect communications systems from massive explosions.
“It’s a structural behemoth,” Mr. Carle said.
Because the project partners are proposing to acquire and build the project without a significant city partnership, the project is set to start this year and be completed by late 2011. Preliminary cost estimates are between $20 million and $30 million, according to Mr. Carle.
The project developers would donate a 10,000-square-foot commercial condominium on the first floor to Sonoma County Museum. The remainder of the first floor could accommodate an upscale restaurant.
TLCD would expand to one or two floors above the museum, and software developer Metier LTD intends to occupy a floor in an expansion from a much smaller office in the Railroad Square downtown area.
A Santa Rosa Redevelopment Agency selection panel recommended the proposal, and the agency board on Jan. 8 voted unanimously to prepare for exclusive negotiations with the developer on the sale of the property to the developer and other matters. The agency board is set to consider the negotiation agreement at its Jan. 25 meeting.
Project team members
Architecture: structure – TLCD Architecture, Santa Rosa; landscape – Quadriga Landscape Architecture & Planning, Santa Rosa.
Engineering: structural – MKM & Associates, Santa Rosa; civil – Carlile Macy, Santa Rosa; electrical – Suite 16 Electrical Engineering, Santa Rosa; mechanical – Costa Engineers, Napa.
Consultants: energy – Sol-Data, Santa Rosa; water proofing – Simpson Gumphertz and Helger, San Francisco; new market tax credits – Novogradac & Company, San Francisco.
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[...] The North Bay Journal has an interesting article detailing the plans of several partners to turn a vacant AT&T glass building structure into a central attraction as part of the areas redevelopment. The new attraction will house the Sonoma County Museum, but will also feature apartments, offices, and restaurants. The project is being spearheaded by the architecture firm TLCD Architecture, Santa Rosa and the engineering firms MKM & Associates (structural) Carlile Macy (civil), Suite 16 Electrical Engineering (electrical), and Costa Engineers (mechanical). It is expected to cost between $20 to $30 million. [...]
by AT&T Vacant Building to Become City Center Attraction | Gadget Baristas