Sara Edwards & Paulina Pineda, PRESS DEMOCRAT
Government officials, business leaders and observers say two competing visions for the former Sears site at Santa Rosa Plaza could help inject new life in that corner of the mall and provide a boost to downtown merchants and restaurants.
Sonoma County Tourism has proposed building a convention center and 250-room hotel at First and A streets to rope more business tourism into the local economy.
Meanwhile, mall owner Simon Property Group is said to be in talks with an unnamed national housing developer to bring apartments and retail to the site.
The full picture of the economic impact of either proposal is still coming into view as public details of the proposals emerge.
But the discussion comes as Santa Rosa’s urban core grapples with an identity crisis fueled in part by boarded up shops and less foot traffic following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/industrynews/sears-downtown-santa-rosa-plaza-mall/