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| SHEILA MASSON/ADVANCE 999 Grant was sold to Catlin Properties last year. |
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June 24th, 2009
Tamalpais Bank wants branch at 999 Grant
By Paul Jones
Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 6:16 PM PDT
The Tamalpais Bancorp will apply to the Novato City Council to locate a new branch in a proposed new building at 999 Grant Ave in November, said Mark Chapman, Senior Vice President of the bank. The building design, commissioned by lot-owner Catlin Properties of Sacramento, has received favorable comments by the Novato Design Review Commission.
“We don’t have any locations in Novato, but we have lots of customers who bank at our Northgate office,” said Chapman. “Novato is obviously the second largest city in the county (and) it was a great opportunity for us."
The current, vacant building at 999 Grant, which has drawn the ire of local business for years, became a preferred location for Tamalpais Bancorp after Catlin Properties proposed to build an entirely new, high-end facility for the site.
“Obviously, it’s apparent that 999 Grant Ave is a great location,” said Chapman. “The mix is right, it’s at the corner of two heavily trafficked streets, and Old Town has done great. It’s a pretty intuitive choice.”
Chapman said the proposed tenancy was in part a result of a countywide survey performed for Tamalpais, in which residents had expressed substantial demand for a Novato branch of the bank. However, he also said the bank’s was pushing for other locations as well.
“We are planning on expanding to parts of San Francisco, and the rest of the Bay Area,” he said.
The bank's move is contingent upon city approval of the building, which Chapman said he was optimistic would be granted. In that event, the bank will open a temporary location at the site prior to completion of the new center.
“We anticipate an immediate approval of our submission to the council and design review, and at that point, we anticipate opening a temporary location in the fall,” he said. “That facility will be on-site, while the building is being completed. We have those plans in place to serve the community as soon as possible.”
Circle Bank considered 999 Grant Ave in 2002, but the city council passed an ordinance soon after restricting bank placement on the site. Chapman said he assumed his bank would be located on the bottom floor, because of its retail-style operation. However, the existing ordinance mandates that no more than 25 percent of any bank be located on the bottom floor of buildings in the downtown business improvement district, potentially complicating Tamalpais’ plans.
Catlin properties did not comment on Tamalpais’ intentions for 999 Grant, but project manager Chip Fuller said the company would release its tenant list for the site in September of 2008.
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comment wrote on Jul 31, 2008 8:14 AM: