‘Crossing’ to bridge retail with outdoor fun

The Crossing at Tahoe Valley is designed to be a destination at the Y in South Lake Tahoe.

By Kathryn Reed

By this time next year the outdated Factory Stores at the Y in South Lake Tahoe is expected to have been converted into the modern Crossing at Tahoe Valley.

Sutter Capital Group based in Sacramento in January expected to infuse $1 million into the parcel at the corner of highways 50 and 89. Now the project is a multi-million dollar undertaking, though an exact dollar figure is not being disclosed.

“We need to reposition the center for a more active lifestyle,” Burke Fathy, general manager of the ownership group, told Lake Tahoe News.

It will still be a retail center – with the option for current tenants to stay – with the addition of two restaurants and a 10,000-square-foot storefront that will be built to suit whoever moves in. The latter will be at the end of the building where Mikasa was, opposite where Big 5 is.

This additional commercial floor area and coverage will come from taking out about 4,000 square feet where the two wings meet.

This is a proposed new building that will be built to the tenant’s specifications.

The goal is to get a mix of tenants. With less than half the center now rented, there is plenty of room for other businesses.

A Sacramento general contractor has been hired. Fathy said local subcontractors would be part of the mix. The permitting process will take place this fall-winter, with ground anticipated to be broken starting in May.

The area being opened up is designed to welcome people who are on the path behind the center, be it on foot or bike. A gathering spot will be developed with seating and fire pits that will be shared by the eateries. Fathy has met with some local establishments, but no decision has been made as to what dining entities will move in.

This area will also tie into the greenway the city is creating through the Tahoe Valley Area Plan that was adopted earlier this year.

(It was at the city’s urging the owners incorporate Tahoe Valley into the center’s name, while “crossing” came from the intersection of the two highways.)

At the Sept. 17 California Tahoe Conservancy board meeting there was talk of connecting 3.5 acres belonging to the state to this project. The land sits between Tahoe Valley Pharmacy and the Factory Stores.

CTC has been talking to the city, and the city to Sutter Capital Group.

“We are confident we can come up with a design that combines open space with other amenities,” CTC Executive Director Patrick Wright told his board. “It is more preferable than vacant land.”

Fathy at first said he would not comment on the CTC parcel, then added, “It is not happening at this time. We are just concerned with what we’ve got.”

The entire façade will be overhauled so it is eye-catching, Fathy said. This will be done by using wood, Corten (rusted steel) and stone. The flow of the center will be improved.

“It will be a significant rebirth of the center,” he said. “We want it to be a community entity.”