Caymus Development Group Leads Sonoma Housing Development Efforts
Sonoma, CA (PRWEB) September 06, 2017 -- Caymus Development Group, a Sonoma based real estate development group dedicated to providing value driven, smart housing, has announced its plans to redesign the First Street East (FSE) Project to focus solely on providing a broad diversity of housing to the community. The FSE development, is located off Sonoma Square, was originally intended to be a mixed-use project, including a small boutique inn, pool club, and café. The commercial components - hotel, restaurant, and pool club - are being dropped, and will be turned into additional housing.
“Our vision was to help Sonoma reduce the impact of tourism while generating Transit Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue for the city. At the same time, we were focused on bringing smart housing to our community and believed our mixed-use plan was a good idea to that end,” said Caymus Capital founder Ed Routhier. “We are grateful for the significant community support we have received over the past two plus years as we attempted to navigate the project through the planning process – from citizens throughout the city as well as local officials. We recognize that Sonoma’s housing crisis is critical and that the complexities of getting the commercial elements approved were holding up the addition of much-needed housing, and ultimately a disservice to those in dire need of housing. All of us who are able to contribute to a solution need to set aside other goals and redouble our efforts to bring more housing to Sonoma.”
Caymus Development Group commends those public advocates that continue to lobby on the importance of affordable housing in positive and professional ways. They are optimistic the community will support this new effort and work closely with them as they study options for a development plan that is all housing.
“The First Street East project was initially planned as an innovative mixed use development, which added significant new housing while introducing a high-value, low-impact residential-scale inn, capable of generating millions of dollars in new revenues for the City of Sonoma and improvements in the quality of life in the city,” said investor and retired businessman, Bill Jasper. “During the design process, the team worked diligently to create this unique type of project, solving for many of the problems that Sonoma faces today. But in discussions over the last few months with responsible civic leaders it became apparent that, while hotel rooms are sorely needed, housing has a greater immediate priority. To meet this critical need now, the decision has been made to remove the hotel component to ensure Sonoma gets the housing it desperately needs in a timely manner.”
“As someone who has sat on both the Planning Commission and the City Council, I fully appreciate the challenges that developers are faced when bringing about growth, said Sonoma City Council Member and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Edwards. “I would like to express my appreciation to the developer to being open to working with Staff and The City Manager and for their outreach to the broader community. While the project has changed in nature from the initial concept, this shift demonstrates a clear commitment to housing in Sonoma. I think it goes without saying that the willingness of the developer to hang in there - as we so desperately need housing opportunities for families in Sonoma - is widely respected.”
ABOUT CAYMUS CAPITAL
Caymus Capital is dedicated to making sustainable, responsible and impact investments in American companies. Their portfolio companies support several for profit and non-profit organizations in Sonoma and employ approximately 40 Sonoma residents. Caymus Development Group is a Sonoma, CA-based development group, widely recognized for developing superior value driven, smart housing projects while strengthening the communities in which they build. Caymus Builders is consistently voted a top construction company in Sonoma. Innovators in the construction industry, Caymus Builders applies the advantages of an integrated design-build process to give you the ultimate in quality, efficiency, and value. They have built two residential neighborhoods in Sonoma, in addition to homes across Northern and Central California.
PRESS CONTACT:
Heidi Darling
Llewellyn Communications
Heidi(at)llewellynmarketing.com
415.302.4777
HEIDI DARLING, Caymus Capital, +1 (415) 302-4777, [email protected]
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