Developers slated to start construction on Seaside’s downtown Aug. 1.

To some it’s a clever new way of doing urban redevelopment without having the end result be another soulless shopping center. To others it’s a premature giveaway of vital downtown property with zero benefits for local residents.

Whatever residents opine about Seaside’s long-awaited shopping plaza at the corner of Fremont Boulevard and Broadway Avenue—and local opinions vary widely—what’s certain is that this isn’t how redevelopment deals are typically made in Monterey County.

For starters, a divided Seaside City Council voted last October to sell the four-acre empty lot situated in downtown Seaside to Monterey-based developer The Orosco Group for $1.9 million. At the time, many local residents scorned the deal because the land was independently appraised at $3.5 million, and because the city paid $6.2 million to purchase it in 2002.

In return for selling the blighted property at a bargain-basement price, however, the City gained final say over nearly ever facet of the project’s design and financing, giving Seaside officials the authority to spike the deal if The Orosco Group failed to meet any of its agreed-upon obligations.

“We exchanged value of the property for what the City wants to see on the site,” says Seaside Mayor Ralph Rubio, who is running for reelection this fall. “It’s like paying more for a marble top in your kitchen than for Formica.”

Under the agreement, the City Council had to review and approve of at least 60 percent of the shopping center’s tenants before the property could transferred to The Orosco Group. At the City Council meeting on July 20, The Orosco Group delivered the list of those tenant leases (which aren’t being released publicly yet) to the council. In return, the council voted 3-1 to transfer the land to the developer on Aug. 1. Construction is expected to start immediately.

While relieved at the council’s approval, Patrick Orosco of The Orosco Group admits that the project has been a long, hard trudge.

“Honestly, if we were held to the same standards [for any other future project], we would opt not to pursue the project,” says Orosco, son of the company’s founder Don Orosco. “Normally, first you purchase a property, then you start construction, and then you work through most of the agreements. But the city requested us to have the answers to all these unknowns before we could title the property.”

The end result, however, might make it all worthwhile. “This is the most exciting project we’ve ever built,” Orosco says. “It’s definitely crossed over into a labor of love. It’s setting a precedent for top-quality retail and construction, rather than settling for a quick fix.”

Rubio says the shopping center project agreement can be used as a model for future redevelopment projects—with some adjustments. It may not be a good idea, Rubio says, to require a developer to have 60 percent of its tenant leases signed before construction has even begun. “That clause might actually hinder the development of the project, and that’s something we didn’t know,” says Rubio, acknowledging months of delays to the current project.

But Rubio stands by the original terms of the deal. “We’re getting something the city can be proud of,” he says.

Don Jordan, Seaside councilman and the lone “no” vote to the project, isn’t so sure. Jordan says the city sold the land too cheaply and that the developer is paying too little in offsite-improvement costs ($400,000). “But,” Jordan admits, “people seem to be happy about this.”