[caption id="attachment_24956" align="alignleft" width="336" caption="Los Robles Lodge has been vacant since the hotel closed in 2006."][/caption]
SANTA ROSA -- Rohnert Park-based Codding Enterprises acquired the former Los Robles Lodge just south of the Coddingtown mall in Santa Rosa in a short-sale transaction Sept. 9, and Codding is exploring redevelopment options such as multifamily homes, shops and a health club.
Codding beat out multiple offers with a "sizeable" deposit and cash offer, and the deal closed escrow in 10 days, according to deal brokers Matt Holmes and Dean Copans of San Francisco-based Retail West. The 3.5-acre property, visible from Highway 101 on Cleveland Avenue, was purchased three years ago for $5.8 million and was offered for sale recently at $3.7 million. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.
"Ever since I've been here, we've been talking about that site," said Brad Baker, Codding chief executive officer since 2005. "We've been price-sensitive. We always thought it was overvalued in the past, and now we think it was more fairly valued. We think it's an opportune time to pick up commercial real estate when it fits with our properties."
Codding has been working with Simon Property Group on changing the tenant mix at the 930,000-square-foot Coddingtown regional mall just north of the former hotel, which closed in 2006. The delayed opening of a Whole Foods Market location on the west anchor-tenant spot of the mall had challenged leasing, but with the store opening set for Sept. 22 prospective leasing activity has picked up recently, according to Mr. Baker.
A half-dozen prospects are scouting space in the mall, and four of them are new to the market. Five of the potential tenants want to fill part of the shuttered Gottschalk's department store building, taking up a whole floor or portions.
The former owners of Los Robles Lodge had wanted to redevelop the property for multifamily housing just when the local housing market started to slide. The city of Santa Rosa also has been interested in having some retail uses there and has been discussing a nearby pedestrian bridge linking Santa Rosa Junior College with the mall and a planned SMART rail station near Guerneville Road.
Recent development entitlements for Codding's Sonoma Mountain Village redevelopment in southeast Rohnert Park also have attracted interest from a hotel operator as well as residential and commercial development interests. Codding is in talks with the city about options for the proposed uses and is very close to signing deals there, according to Mr. Baker.
"It's possible that in a year or two there will be some construction on Sonoma Mountain Village," he said.
