Design-ated Buyer

Orosco Group affiliate buys Design Center

Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Orosco Group plans to bring restaurants and art galleries to the vacant first floor of the Design Center, says Patrick Orosco of the Monterey development group. "We’d love to do a restaurant with live music of some sort," Orosco says.

Urban Atelier, LLC, a company managed by The Orosco Group, recently bought Sand City's Design Center, the four-story loft building, which was envisioned as the centerpiece of Sand City's live/work redevelopment plan. Urban Atelier reportedly bought the building for $6 million.

In May, First National Bank of Central California foreclosed on the Design Center, LLC and took possession of the property. The developer owed the bank $23.6 million. The Design Center’s demise was seen as another casualty of the recession, real estate downturn and construction industry contraction.

In September CHOMP dropped its offer to buy the Design Center, saying its plans for office uses were incompatible with city use restrictions. Orosco says whatever plans his company has for the mixed-use building will have to vetted by the City Council and go through the conditional use permit process.

Commercial condominiums and art galleries will also be part of the mix, Orosco says. "We will be marketing the space for art galleries that are looking for fresh, clean, new space with high volume at relatively inexpensive rents," he says.

With the purchase, The Orosco Group adds to its local development portfolio, which includes Sand City’s bustling Edgewater Shopping Center and Seaside’s struggling City Center.