Boutique hotel comes to historic Santa Rosa building

A 100-year-old building in Santa Rosa’s downtown Courthouse Square is set to be transformed into a boutique hotel.

Local property owners and developers Hugh Futrell Corp. and Zach Berkowitz joined forces with San Francisco-based Greystone Hotels, an independent boutique hotel operator, to turn the historic Empire Building into a 50- to 60-room hotel. All three entities have ownership in the property, but Greystone will operate and manage the hotel.

The Empire Building was the first major building constructed after the 1906 earthquake leveled much of Santa Rosa’s downtown and is now one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. While extensive exterior and interior remodeling will occur, the developers also plan to preserve and restore the building’s façade, as well as seek National Historic Landmark designation.

“Everything just seemed to come together with this project,” Berkowitz said. “It’s the right time to upgrade our building, [and] the work on Courthouse Square will activate and enliven the area.”

In addition to guest rooms, the hotel will feature a restaurant and coffee lounge on the first floor.

The project will break ground early next year and is expected to be complete in early 2018. The hotel will directly employ around 40 full-time staff and will generate substantial tax income for the city and county.

“The addition of this hotel to the newly unified and improved Courthouse Square will be transformational,” Jonathan Coe, president of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “The value to our community is immense. It brings jobs not only in the hotel, but to other businesses in the area and will strengthen the investments being made to revitalize downtown.”

In addition to the Empire project, Hugh Futrell Corp. is also transforming a former AT&T switching station on downtown Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square into the Museum on the Square, a cultural and business hub. Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART), a passenger rail and bicycle-pedestrian pathway, is also joining downtown Santa Rosa’s revitalization. SMART will serve a 70-mile corridor from Larkspur to Cloverdale, with a first phase from San Rafael to Santa Rosa debuting at the end of the year.

The Empire Building was the first major building constructed after the 1906 earthquake and leveled much of Santa Rosa’s downtown and is now of the city’s most prominent landmarks.