Nut Tree Development's History
Article Launched: 08/21/2005 07:39:49 AM
Proposed was a vintage miniature railroad and many of the design features that made the former site a California attraction. (Courtesy image)
Comeback had false starts
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
When the Nut Tree closed nine years ago, there was a period of mourning for Vacaville.
The landmark restaurant with its hobby horses and its train tickets, its big cookies and its carved pumpkins - the Nut Tree was a part of many people's lives for more than 80 years, without question.
In its absence lays a void, and since the restaurant complex closed in 1996, hope has sprang eternal that the Nut Tree would live again.
Developers from the southern tip of California to the streets of New York have stepped up, one by one, to pitch their ideas for a new landmark where the Nut Tree once sat.
And, until now, every attempt failed.
San Francisco developer Bill Poland made a bid to buy the Nut Tree as it was getting ready to close in late 1995. He reached a deal with the Power family - owners of the Nut Tree - to buy the site for $16 million.
The restaurant closed in January 1996, with a promised summer reopening following massive renovation. Poland plotted a wooden roller coaster, a miniature golf course and even a man-made lake.
A handfulof employees were hired and a close-of-escrow date was on the calendar. But the purchase fell apart in May 1996 when Poland's group couldn't come up with financing.
A year later, the Kivelstadt Group - another San Francisco-based developer - stepped into the equation. Kivelstadt, the firm behind Vacaville's Power Plaza retail center, didn't get as far as Poland had, though, and pulled out early on.
A Sacramento firm named JAS Developments moved into the spotlight in 1998, signing an agreement to purchase the 165-acre site for upward of $15 million. Two months later, the bid fell apart after a key component of the project prompted JAS to pull out.
Days after news of the JAS collapse broke, two new offers came in - one from a New York-based company and another from Lake Tahoe.
But those offers quickly fell into the shadows when a group led by former heavyweight boxer Ken Norton Sr. made a very public bid to buy the Nut Tree.
Norton's San Diego-based group proposed a resort hotel, a water park, a golf driving range and an upscale restaurant for the site.
And then just a month after meeting with the Power family, with local elected officials and with the media to discuss plans, the deal dissolved.
Later in 1999, things moved in an entirely different direction. Instead of looking solely outside the bloodlines, the Power-Fairchild family that owned the Nut Tree split up the partnership.
The branch of the family tied to Margaret C. Power - the widow of Robert Power, who was the son of Nut Tree founders Edwin and Helen Harbison Power - withdrew from ownership of the site.
The other two family partners - Robert Power's daughter Mary Helen Fairchild and second-generation partner Edwin I. Power, the son of Edwin and Helen Harbison Power, took control of the property and entered a partnership with Kivelstadt to develop the site.
Months ago, another big move was made as Bruce Portner decided to build a minor league baseball stadium at the Nut Tree and bring his team, later dubbed the Solano Steelheads, to Vacaville.
Meanwhile, the Kivelstadt-Power-Fairchild partnership worked on plans to turn the Nut Tree into a "little Disneyland" - bringing an amusement park to coexist with the ballpark.
Portner built the stadium and the Steelheads began play in May 2000. A land swap moved gave control of the ballpark's 17 acres to Portner. The stadium has since been sold and the Solano Thunderbirds, a college All-Star team.
The city began to get more involved in the future of the Nut Tree in the coming months, setting rules on what could or could not be built at the site. Lumberyards were prohibited, as were car dealerships or storage facilities.
The Kivelstadt partnership brought in a proposal to build a Lowe's Home and Garden Warehouse at the site. After some hand-wringing, the proposal went through in late 2000.
Meanwhile, to have more control over the direction of the Nut Tree, the Vacaville City Council voted to purchase 80 acres of the site in September 2000 for $7.5 million.
Plans on that core area moved quickly. In early 2001, the city made public plans to sell the property to San Francisco-based Eden Development Group.
Eden called for a full-service hotel and conference center, upscale eateries and speciality shops and even a championship-style golf course to be designed by longtime pro golfer Greg Norman.
But after a year of failing to find financing for the project, Eden pulled out. Another batter came to the plate: Roger Snell & Co.
Snell's story has been different so far - slowly but surely, the plans have been developed and approved, a deal has been negotiated, the financing has been found and the dirt is ready to turn.
The groundbreaking for Snell's Nut Tree is Thursday. Escrow should be closed by then, according to city officials.
After the numerous attempts at turning the ashes of the landmark into a phoenix, what made this attempt work?
"The timing," said Snell & Co. representative Jill Katz. "The city has been very cooperative and there was some excellent design work. And the economy is in good shape now."
Katz said getting financial backing is always the biggest hurdle, and bringing Rockwood Capital into the team was key.
City Manager David Van Kirk, who said he's mostly forgotten about all the failed attempts at rebuilding the Nut Tree, echoed Katz, saying timing and money were the keys.
"There's just a lot more going on in this area than there was five to 10 years ago," Van Kirk said.
None of the previous proposals delivered the funding necessary to redevelop the site, which made Snell & Co. stand out even more, the city manager added.
"That's obviously the most important part of any project," he said. "You have to have the money to back it up."
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
Proposed was a vintage miniature railroad and many of the design features that made the former site a California attraction. (Courtesy image)
Comeback had false starts
By Tom Hall/Staff Writer
When the Nut Tree closed nine years ago, there was a period of mourning for Vacaville.
The landmark restaurant with its hobby horses and its train tickets, its big cookies and its carved pumpkins - the Nut Tree was a part of many people's lives for more than 80 years, without question.
In its absence lays a void, and since the restaurant complex closed in 1996, hope has sprang eternal that the Nut Tree would live again.
Developers from the southern tip of California to the streets of New York have stepped up, one by one, to pitch their ideas for a new landmark where the Nut Tree once sat.
And, until now, every attempt failed.
San Francisco developer Bill Poland made a bid to buy the Nut Tree as it was getting ready to close in late 1995. He reached a deal with the Power family - owners of the Nut Tree - to buy the site for $16 million.
The restaurant closed in January 1996, with a promised summer reopening following massive renovation. Poland plotted a wooden roller coaster, a miniature golf course and even a man-made lake.
A handfulof employees were hired and a close-of-escrow date was on the calendar. But the purchase fell apart in May 1996 when Poland's group couldn't come up with financing.
A year later, the Kivelstadt Group - another San Francisco-based developer - stepped into the equation. Kivelstadt, the firm behind Vacaville's Power Plaza retail center, didn't get as far as Poland had, though, and pulled out early on.
A Sacramento firm named JAS Developments moved into the spotlight in 1998, signing an agreement to purchase the 165-acre site for upward of $15 million. Two months later, the bid fell apart after a key component of the project prompted JAS to pull out.
Days after news of the JAS collapse broke, two new offers came in - one from a New York-based company and another from Lake Tahoe.
But those offers quickly fell into the shadows when a group led by former heavyweight boxer Ken Norton Sr. made a very public bid to buy the Nut Tree.
Norton's San Diego-based group proposed a resort hotel, a water park, a golf driving range and an upscale restaurant for the site.
And then just a month after meeting with the Power family, with local elected officials and with the media to discuss plans, the deal dissolved.
Later in 1999, things moved in an entirely different direction. Instead of looking solely outside the bloodlines, the Power-Fairchild family that owned the Nut Tree split up the partnership.
The branch of the family tied to Margaret C. Power - the widow of Robert Power, who was the son of Nut Tree founders Edwin and Helen Harbison Power - withdrew from ownership of the site.
The other two family partners - Robert Power's daughter Mary Helen Fairchild and second-generation partner Edwin I. Power, the son of Edwin and Helen Harbison Power, took control of the property and entered a partnership with Kivelstadt to develop the site.
Months ago, another big move was made as Bruce Portner decided to build a minor league baseball stadium at the Nut Tree and bring his team, later dubbed the Solano Steelheads, to Vacaville.
Meanwhile, the Kivelstadt-Power-Fairchild partnership worked on plans to turn the Nut Tree into a "little Disneyland" - bringing an amusement park to coexist with the ballpark.
Portner built the stadium and the Steelheads began play in May 2000. A land swap moved gave control of the ballpark's 17 acres to Portner. The stadium has since been sold and the Solano Thunderbirds, a college All-Star team.
The city began to get more involved in the future of the Nut Tree in the coming months, setting rules on what could or could not be built at the site. Lumberyards were prohibited, as were car dealerships or storage facilities.
The Kivelstadt partnership brought in a proposal to build a Lowe's Home and Garden Warehouse at the site. After some hand-wringing, the proposal went through in late 2000.
Meanwhile, to have more control over the direction of the Nut Tree, the Vacaville City Council voted to purchase 80 acres of the site in September 2000 for $7.5 million.
Plans on that core area moved quickly. In early 2001, the city made public plans to sell the property to San Francisco-based Eden Development Group.
Eden called for a full-service hotel and conference center, upscale eateries and speciality shops and even a championship-style golf course to be designed by longtime pro golfer Greg Norman.
But after a year of failing to find financing for the project, Eden pulled out. Another batter came to the plate: Roger Snell & Co.
Snell's story has been different so far - slowly but surely, the plans have been developed and approved, a deal has been negotiated, the financing has been found and the dirt is ready to turn.
The groundbreaking for Snell's Nut Tree is Thursday. Escrow should be closed by then, according to city officials.
After the numerous attempts at turning the ashes of the landmark into a phoenix, what made this attempt work?
"The timing," said Snell & Co. representative Jill Katz. "The city has been very cooperative and there was some excellent design work. And the economy is in good shape now."
Katz said getting financial backing is always the biggest hurdle, and bringing Rockwood Capital into the team was key.
City Manager David Van Kirk, who said he's mostly forgotten about all the failed attempts at rebuilding the Nut Tree, echoed Katz, saying timing and money were the keys.
"There's just a lot more going on in this area than there was five to 10 years ago," Van Kirk said.
None of the previous proposals delivered the funding necessary to redevelop the site, which made Snell & Co. stand out even more, the city manager added.
"That's obviously the most important part of any project," he said. "You have to have the money to back it up."
Tom Hall can be reached at vacaville@thereporter.com.
posted by Solano EDC at 10:53 AM
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