Plans to repurpose former Americana come before city
The Americana Lodge in downtown Redding, California, closed in January after hundreds of alleged code and safety violations, and now The Hignell Companies hopes to repurpose the building. Wochit
Architectural renderings of the proposed remodeling project to turn the closed Americana Lodge into The Lofts.(Photo: Russell Studio)
Plans to convert the shuttered Americana Lodge in downtown Redding to apartments come before the city Wednesday afternoon.
The project has been hailed as a catalyst for the area since The Hignell Companies of Chico announced it was purchasing the former motel late last year.
Hignell would transform the property between Pine and Market streets into 24 one-bedroom and 20 studio apartment units that would average between 400 and 500 square feet of floor space.
At least four of the apartments would be set aside for very-low and low-income renters.
The Redding Board of Administrative Review will consider Hignell’s site development permit application 2 p.m. Wednesday.
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Affordable housing for low-income residents is a high priority in Redding’s general plan, Linda Burke, an associate planner, said in her report to the board.
Architectural renderings of the proposed remodeling project to turn the Americana Lodge into The Lofts. (Photo: Russell Studio)
Called The Lofts, Hignell’s project is ideal because it would create new affordable housing opportunities and “develop and maintain programs that ensure a wide range of housing choices to all in the community,” Burke wrote.
Philip Larios, president of The Hignell Companies, said they are still working to put together the deal to purchase the former Americana Lodge. Hignell has offered to buy the property for $375,000, but escrow has been extended more than once as the developer works with the city on the project.
“We have signed an extension into September,” Larios said Monday.
Two area property managers said The Lofts would help bring some inventory to what is a tight rental market.
Americana Lodge closed after it went into receivership." width="540" height="405" />Buy PhotoThe Americana Lodge closed after it went into receivership. (Photo: Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight)
“Our phone is ringing off the hook,” said Deborah McCarty, broker manager of Coldwell Banker C&C Properties property management division.
McCarty manages a similar, albeit much smaller, complex on Old Eureka Way in west Redding that features studio apartments. Some of the more popular units rent for $550 to $575 a month.
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“They go like hotcakes. There’s a pretty high demand,” McCarty said.
Some of the pressure put on Redding’s rental market comes from students attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry and Simpson University. Larios has said that he envisions The Lofts filling a need for student housing.
Apartment vacancy rates in Redding are hovering below 5 percent, said Aaron Robertson, co-owner of Authority Property Management.
“This has changed a lot in the last 45 days because all the Bethel students are coming in at the moment,” Robertson said of vacancy rates.
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The Americana Lodge was put into receivership after a long legal battle between the city and the motel that started more than two years ago. City code enforcement officials conducted a sweep of the Americana Lodge in May 2015 during which they alleged more than 500 building and health and safety code violations.
The receiver closed the motel last January.
Hignell would not demolish the motel to make room for its project.
One thing the project would do is remove the Market Street driveway so vehicles would access the property off Pine Street. An outdoor gathering space and covered patio area with pedestrian access to the street would replace the Market Street driveway.
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