The southwest corner of Highway 50 and Ski Run Boulevard is under construction for a Whole Foods Commercial Project achieving both economic and environmental goals. As reported by South Tahoe Now, during the August 7, 2017 groundbreaking ceremony, former Mayors Hal gCole and Austin Sass as well as Halferty Development COO Chris Peto, credited City Manager Nancy Kerry with her tenacity in making sure the Bijou Marketplace would become a reality. The City officially acquired the project site in 2014 (southwest corner lot), released a request for proposals to develop the land, and eventually resold it to Halferty Development Corporation who proposed a design incorporating environmental redevelopment into the project.
Bijou Marketplace Exemplifies the Difficulties of Redeveloping in the Tahoe Basin
The project had many starts, stalls, and restarts throughout the three years of negotiations and then completely stalled in October, 2016 as reported by Lake Tahoe News: Whole Foods Redevelopment Project . However, six months later, the project was resurrected through a creative financing structure and utilization of Tahoe Basin development rights (commodities). The project is now well underway and expects to have first commercial occupants before the end of 2018. Project elevations demonstrate unique “Tahoe vibe” architectural features will be part of the final design: see Whole Foods elevations.
Development is First Phase of the Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project
When completed, the entire project site will initiate many environmental benefits of the Bijou Park Creek Watershed, which was one of the primary goals of the City in tackling the complexities of project acquisition and resale of the development area. Specifically, the project will reduce fine sediment flowing into Lake Tahoe resulting from overdevelopment upstream in the watershed. Additional analysis can be found in the City’s Bijou Park Creek/SW Corner IS/MND/IEC/MFONSE and further in Phase 1 and Phase 2 EIPs for the Upper Bijou Park Creek Watershed Restoration Project.
