"On Tuesday, the 73,000-square-foot building that was once known as Bayside Cannery launched its next chapter as an all-electric commercial building that will soon welcome commercial tenants to its completely refurbished interior. But to visitors and residents, the most visible new feature is an expansive mosaic at the building's exterior that celebrates its agricultural past and the life of Thomas Foon Chew, the entrepreneur who opened the cannery in 1918. Leading up to the building is a sculpture made up of cans, their labels spelling out "Bayside Canning Company.""
"The refurbishment of the building at 340 Portage Ave. is part of a broader redevelopment of the Ventura property near Park Avenue. In the next year, Sobrato Organization plans to build 74 townhomes directly across from the cannery building. Elsewhere on the site, Palo Alto is planning to construct about 100 below-market-rate apartments and a new public park. The projects were all part of a development agreement that the city reached with Sobrato in 2023, a time when the city was considering sweeping zoning changes to the portion of Ventura that includes the former Fry's site."
"Former Mayor Tom DuBois, who was part of a council committee that negotiated the development agreement, said he was impressed with the refurbished building, which he said exceeded his expectations. "You look at how big this building is and you can imagine how much fruit was here when it was a cannery," DuBois said. "I think it's great that we found a way to honor his memory and have this building modernized and reused.""
A 73,000-square-foot former cannery building at 340 Portage Ave. is being converted into an all-electric commercial building with a completely refurbished interior for incoming commercial tenants. The exterior features an expansive mosaic celebrating the building’s agricultural past and the life of Thomas Foon Chew, who opened the cannery in 1918. A sculpture made of cans leads up to the building, with labels reading “Bayside Canning Company.” The refurbishment is part of broader redevelopment of the Ventura property near Park Avenue. Sobrato Organization plans to build 74 townhomes across from the cannery, about 100 below-market-rate apartments, and a new public park. The work follows a 2023 development agreement with the city.
#all-electric-commercial-building #historic-preservation #mixed-use-redevelopment #affordable-housing #urban-planning
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