Nearly the entire east (river) side of Front Street between Soquel Avenue and Laurel Street is involved in three big development proposals now under consideration by the City of Santa Cruz.
The first (described in post #9) to receive all of the required planning approvals is in the middle of the block, opposite the Metro Center.
Attention has now shifted to a hotel proposed for several contiguous parcels between the planned "Maple Alley" Riverwalk access and Laurel Street, across Front Street from the current construction zone of the project described in post #4. The 2017 view above-right shows the site from the Maple Alley end. The only existing building is Santa Cruz Credit Union, which reportedly has already agreed to sell to the hotel developers.
Beyond the credit union building is a city-owned parking lot, then Laurel Street. Another city-owned 100'-wide parking lot (at left in the view above) will be split evenly between the hotel and the Maple Alley extension to the levee and Riverwalk.
From approximately the same direction, the view at left is one of the renderings developers submitted to the city. The landscaped outdoor space is the hotel's half of the parking lot. The small structure shown at far left is not part of the proposal.
The developers have submitted many more renderings, in addition to the standard plans and elevations. The plan set can be found on the city website. For more information on city actions regarding this proposal, see this page.
