In Issue No. 8 | May 2020
LEAD STORY
Embracing Healdsburg at Home

At a time when all of the friends of Mill District are being advised to shelter in place and lie low, we want to reach out and connect with you—to keep you in touch with the Healdsburg Community—right from your living rooms. We’re doing so by providing you a variety of invitation-only experiences we are calling ‘Healdsburg at Home’.

We just kicked off a series of Zwift rides with retired pro cyclist and Mill District Ambassador Ted King on May 13 (photo above). For those of you who don’t know about Zwift, it’s an online cycling platform that mashes up indoor training with the intensity of serious training. The goal is to motivate you through virtual group rides and races, and to provide a community that inspires you to get fit and strong. Ted has a new baby at home and is thoroughly enjoying hosting these rides. We were grateful to offer our first foray into virtual cycling this month, in place of the in-person rides we’d planned at Mill District.

“It was really neat to see people come together over their love of cycling,” said King. “There will be a time in the future when we will all be able to ride in Sonoma County and get together for a great meal afterward. Until then, this is a great substitute.”

Next up in our Healdsburg At Home experiences will be wine tastings with some of our wine partners, including Shelly Rafanelli at A. Rafanelli Winery in the Dry Creek Valley and Dave Duncan at Silver Oak in the Alexander Valley. Both wineries are quick 12-minute drives from Mill District.

“We want to stay connected and continue to share the best that Healdsburg has to offer,” said Mike Brennan, our director of sales.

Details on these tastings will be announced next week, but we can dish that Rafanelli will showcase barrel wines. We also know our Silver Oak tasting will include a complimentary certificate for a VIP tasting that participants can redeem when they’re able to head to the actual Alexander Valley winery in person.

While we understand these events can never replicate the magic of getting together face to face, we are happy to stay connected with you virtually until we can gather again.

PROJECT UPDATE
Q&A with Director of Development, Eric Chan

If anybody understands how Mill District has evolved over time, it’s Eric Chan. Eric is the project’s director of development, and he has worked closely with our friends at Olson Kundig on the architecture and design of the project from the very beginning. Newsletter writer Matt Villano recently caught up with Eric to discuss the project vision and the first phase of development. What follows is an edited transcript of their conversation.

We’re lucky to work with Olson Kundig on the project architecture. How would you describe the design aesthetic?

Working with Olson Kundig, you know the design aesthetic is going to be second to none. Their approach is very comprehensive in terms of the integration of all the architectural, interior design and landscape elements. The design is sophisticated and elegant but also is grounded in our location and the history of the site. It looks to the future with a nod to the past. Olson Kundig is renowned for its seamless integration of outdoor and indoor living spaces, which is so important in Healdsburg. From what we’ve seen, with walls and windows that open and slide away, it will be difficult to tell whether you’re inside or outside.

Why is Olson Kundig such a big deal?

The firm is consistently recognized as one of the top architecture firms in the United States, and it has that unique aesthetic. At this moment the company has projects happening around the world and its work on an international scale brings perspective and knowledge.

How has the project vision evolved over the years?

We’ve been designing the site over the last few years but our guiding principles have not changed. We value the importance of landscape to make Mill District feel like a neighborhood in a 10-acre garden. We are excited to incorporate architecture that is varied and recognizes the importance of outdoor as much as the indoor spaces. Overall, our vision is to create a natural extension of downtown Healdsburg.

Talk about the park, the centerpiece of the first part of the site to be developed.

We see the park as a key ingredient to the town of Healdsburg. It’s home to 15 heritage redwood trees that are very unique in a downtown core. When you look at those trees, you’re instantly intrigued. Old-growth redwoods on the site of an old lumber mill grab your attention. These trees will provide shade and privacy to our first offering of residences.

What are the first residences going to be like?

Our first phase of residences will front the park and the redwood trees. They will be some of the best at Mill District, with views of the park or Fitch Mountain or both. Each residence will have a private outdoor space. At the end of the day, the design of our residences is meant to celebrate outdoor space.

When are the residences going to be available for purchase?

We plan to offer our residences to the general public in the fall of 2020. As you can imagine we have had several people reach out to us inquiring about buying a residence since we acquired the site five years ago. Those who have been following us and supporting us will have access to information first and will be provided the first opportunities to purchase. This is our way of thanking them for all of their support from the beginning and along the way.

WHAT'S HAPPENING
Local Partners, Doing Good

We’ve entered into Month No. 3 of the shutdown related to the global pandemic, and the Healdsburg government and local businesses continue to give back to the community. Here, in no particular order, are some of our neighbors doing things we admire.

  • Jesse Katz, co-owner and winemaker at Aperture Cellars, has opened his new tasting room just south of Mill District in Russian River Valley for official use and has been hosting regular virtual tastings for people following along from home. Katz is renowned as a winemaker to the stars, having developed wine brands for Justin Timberlake, Tony Hawk, and the Los Angeles Lakers (Aperture wines are featured in our photo above. Photo credit: @kimcarrollphoto).

  • The City of Healdsburg stepped up earlier this month by unveiling the Healdsburg Small Business Sustainability Program, a $600,000 fund to help the local small business community weather the pandemic. The loan program operates independently from federal programs, and it will dole out zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 to eligible small businesses. Funding for the loan came from the city’s Measure V funds, a half-cent sales tax that pays for key city services. At last check, nearly three dozen businesses were slated to receive funds.

  • Healdsburg Community Services reopened city parks May 1 and locals were delighted to once again savor the opportunity to get out and about in nature. While playgrounds, picnic areas, and other high-touch portions of the parks remain closed, the open spaces are in fact open—to all of those who practice social distancing and wear masks when necessary.

  • Gary Farrell Winery has expanded its virtual tasting repertoire to include a virtual winemaker dinner series. Join Theresa Heredia, winemaker and Tiffany Kuhn, estate sommelier on May 24 for an evening of relaxed conversation, delicious food, and top-notch wines. Pre-purchase your kit of three limited-production wines that come with some simple yet delicious recipes to prepare at home.

SPOTLIGHT
Duskie Estes: Queen of Glean

One of Healdsburg’s most famous food-and-beverage all-stars has pivoted from a career in kitchens to a job coordinating the region’s primary food distribution network. The chef, Duskie Estes, took over in late April as the new executive director of Farm to Pantry.

Her new digs are essential to getting people in the greater Healdsburg community fed. The organization works behind the scenes with local farmers to harvest surplus produce, and coordinates with local restaurateurs to identify surplus food, clean it up, and get it into the hands of people who need it most.

The organization runs on volunteers. Since 2008, this Healdsburg nonprofit has donated more than 235 tons of produce from the fields, farms, and backyards of Sonoma County.

“Farm to Pantry is a great way to fight back against food waste—especially now, at a time when so many local families are struggling to endure the challenges of the pandemic,” she says. “Our mission is to feed people, but we also hope to improve and increase coordination between those who grow food and those who consume it.”

For Duskie, a native of San Francisco, taking the job at Farm to Pantry was like coming full circle. One of her first jobs in the industry was to run the kitchen at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. She and her team were feeding 3,000 people a day back then. In more recent memory, Duskie and her husband John Stewart owned Zazu Restaurant, which was in the Barlow in Sebastopol and destroyed in the floods of 2019, as well as Black Pig Meat Co., an artisan bacon company.

In 2011, Duskie and John were also named “King and Queen of Pork” at a national chef cook-off named 555 Cochon. Duskie also has several television appearances on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “Guy’s Grocery Games,” and “Next Iron Chef,” to name a few.

Two of Duskie’s first gleans were at Front Porch Farm in Healdsburg and Jackson Family Farms in Santa Rosa. From there, she and some volunteers went on to DMS Ranch in Sebastopol to pick 1,500 pounds of lemons. Farm to Pantry calculates a quarter pound of any fruit or vegetable as one serving per person, so together her crew gleaned enough food for 6,000 portions.

In addition to collecting and managing (and sometimes re-packaging) surplus food, the Farm to Pantry team also redistributes food waste from restaurants and other shops. Last week, Duskie said a group of volunteers came through to collect extra items from exhibitors at the Santa Rosa Farmers’ Market and walked home with more than 70 pounds, or enough portions of produce for 200 people. In one month, they have doubled the number of partner farms and tripled the pounds gleaned, thereby tripling the amount of food distributed to people who are hungry.

What’s more, under Duskie’s leadership Farm to Pantry has expanded its reach to include Penngrove, Sebastopol, and Cloverdale.

“It’s kind of like I get to be the cruise director for Robin Hood, except we’re not stealing,” she said. “It’s a win-win-win—for everyone involved.”

SIDE NOTE
Like Our New Look?

With a little extra time on our hands, and as we transition into the sales phase of Mill District, we have recreated the look and feel of our e-newsletter and marketing and communication materials. Additionally, our new, ultra-modern sales office has arrived on site and we can’t wait to invite you over to see it. Later this month we’ll be rolling out some other changes, and you’ll have the opportunity to be the first to see them. Stay tuned because Mill District is ramping up for a new and exciting chapter.

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The information contained in this website is strictly for informational purposes and shall not be construed as an offer in California or any other jurisdictions where prior registration or other advance qualification of real property is required. This is not an offer to sell property to, or a solicitation of offers from residents from any state that require prior registration or qualification of real estate. All renderings and illustrative maps are conceptual only and subject to change. Amenities shown in renderings and illustrative maps are proposed, have not received City approval and may not occur. Errors & omissions excepted.