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Opposition mounts to Hall's winery plans
Outlook includes 50-foot-tall Frank Gehry-designed building
Thursday, August 5, 2004
By John Intardonato
STAFF WRITER
Buried inside a vast, corrugated-metal and stucco warehouse is an historical 1885 ghost winery hoping to again see the St. Helena sunshine. International entrepreneurs Kathryn and Craig Hall want to accomplish that by providing world famous architect Frank O. Gehry upwards of $70 million for the project.
The ugly duckling Napa Valley Cooperative Winery (NVCW), just south of town on West Highway 29, is destined to become an "Opus One-class winery," according to Craig Hall, who purchased the site last year.
The immediate reaction on the part of some residents close to the development, however, may be no. A ghost protest against the ghost winery could be looming, which one anonymous source says may be equal to that of the Wine Train uproar.
Opposition forming
A committee of the "South St. Helena neighbors," is forming to oppose the project, according to the source. "We sent a letter to 238 residents last Thursday, and will do another mailing this week," she said.
"We just want to get rid of the unsightly tin sheds and restore and preserve the 120-year-old stone winery hidden inside," said Kathryn Hall. "We want the winery to be a landmark for St. Helena and the Napa Valley."
The objects of concern seem to be the Gehry-designed, nearly 50-foot-tall building, and the 400 to 500 visitors a day the structure could attract. The opponents fear that the number of visitors could well exceed 3,500.
The building will feature "Gehryesque" skylights, in this case elongated, free-style glass tubes. They are designed to bring maximum light into the building.
Controversial architect
Canadian born, and Los Angeles raised, Gehry is one of the foremost architects in the world today. He is a Pritzker Prize Laureate. The award is considered the Nobel Prize of architecture. He is arguably the most controversial architect in America.
His random, building-block symmetry, implosive, explosive forms and "Gaudi-gaudy" originality may indeed make the site a tourist attraction; clearly a no-no to some St. Helena residents.
Since it was opened in 1991 in Bilbao, Spain, Gehry's renowned Guggenheim Museum has attracted millions of people to this Basque capitol city.
Highly congested area
Some St. Helena residents fear the structure could similarly attract large numbers here, and that it would strain the already limited resources of the community in what is already a highly congested area.
The Halls say that no titanium or gleaming metals will be used. These are materials found in some of Gehry's exotic, unconventional designs. He used titanium in the Guggenheim.
Gehry has also used aluminum and steel or copper sheeting in some of his other famous works, such as the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, or the Aerospace Museum and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Spokesperson Sam Folsom says the Halls are only trying to change the industrial appearance of the site. The Gehry building will barely be seen from the road and is set in a courtyard 700 feet from Highway 29. "It's hidden by a 25 foot high slope and a vineyard," he said.
'In keeping with valley'
"It won't be a national museum or a concert hall designed to attract thousands of people," he said. "Although it is an ultra modern design, we believe it's in keeping with the other architectural landmarks in the valley."
The building in question is only 7,600 square feet, according to Folsom. "Less than 700 square feet, mainly the skylight portion is visible to view because of the foliage and berm," he said.
A smaller atrium, also designed by Gehry, will be built in the proposed courtyard. According to the Halls, the buildings will incorporate wood, cement, stone and low-reflective glass.
Local architect John Lail will design the winery and storage buildings.
Trees will line property
Folsom says he and the Halls have met with several concerned neighbors and have attempted to mitigate their issues. "Several have asked for a tree-lined boarder around the property, but not higher than 35 feet. We have included that," he said.
Initially the plans called for 88 parking spaces, according to Folsom. "Because some of the residents were worried about visitors overflowing on to their properties, we increased parking to 157," he said.
All of the tanks, sheds and winery equipment will be in buildings set between 455 feet to 700 feet from the Highway 29. The barrel and aging cellars will be underground, hidden by a 20-foot high berm. A vineyard will be planted on the slope.
Berm higher than restaurant
Those in opposition also question if removing one eyesore would create another. They say the 20-foot sloping berm will be 6 feet higher than the nearby Spot Restaurant.
According to the source, a 20-foot concrete retaining wall "will tower over and cast a shadow over the adjoining mobile home park."
Downsizing to quality is basically the plan for the new winery, according to Craig Hall, chairman and founder of the Hall Financial Group. "We have a permit to produce 1.2 million cases of wine, but our ultimate goal, instead, is to produce about 135,000 cases of ultra-premium varietal wines," he said.
"Even looking 20 years into the future, we doubt our total volume will go up beyond several hundred thousand cases," Folsom said. "We don't foresee a time when we would ever approach the 1.2 million cases in our permit."
Halls' meteoric history
The Halls venture into St. Helena and the Napa Valley has been meteoric and extensive. It began in 1995 when the 19-acre, Sacrashe vineyard was purchased in the hills above Rutherford. The Kathryn Hall Winery is being built there. It is to be a small, single vineyard estate winery.
In 2002, the Halls purchased an additional 185 acres along Silverado Trail just north of Napa, and the 140-acre Hardester vineyard in Pope Valley this year. Along with the purchase of the NVCW from Golden State Vintners in 2003, the Halls have 537 acres in Napa Valley with 358 in vineyards.
The Halls own an additional 458 acres of land in the Alexander Valley, including the 53-acre T bar T vineyard. These properties were purchased in 2003.
Company based in Dallas
Craig Hall, who is originally from Ann Arbor, MI, is a real estate developer, entrepreneur, and author. His company, the Hall Financial Group is based in Dallas, Texas. He was involved in the River Terrace Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn developments in Napa.
Born in Berkeley and raised in Mendocino, Kathryn Hall was the United States Ambassador to Austria from 1997 to 2001. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the Hastings School of Law, she worked in the district attorney's office in Berkeley before she became a vice president with Safeway Stores. She also managed her parents' Mendocino vineyard for 10 years.
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Opposition mounts to Hall's winery plans
Outlook includes 50-foot-tall Frank Gehry-designed building
Thursday, August 5, 2004
By John Intardonato
STAFF WRITER
Buried inside a vast, corrugated-metal and stucco warehouse is an historical 1885 ghost winery hoping to again see the St. Helena sunshine. International entrepreneurs Kathryn and Craig Hall want to accomplish that by providing world famous architect Frank O. Gehry upwards of $70 million for the project.
The ugly duckling Napa Valley Cooperative Winery (NVCW), just south of town on West Highway 29, is destined to become an "Opus One-class winery," according to Craig Hall, who purchased the site last year.
The immediate reaction on the part of some residents close to the development, however, may be no. A ghost protest against the ghost winery could be looming, which one anonymous source says may be equal to that of the Wine Train uproar.
Opposition forming
A committee of the "South St. Helena neighbors," is forming to oppose the project, according to the source. "We sent a letter to 238 residents last Thursday, and will do another mailing this week," she said.
"We just want to get rid of the unsightly tin sheds and restore and preserve the 120-year-old stone winery hidden inside," said Kathryn Hall. "We want the winery to be a landmark for St. Helena and the Napa Valley."
The objects of concern seem to be the Gehry-designed, nearly 50-foot-tall building, and the 400 to 500 visitors a day the structure could attract. The opponents fear that the number of visitors could well exceed 3,500.
The building will feature "Gehryesque" skylights, in this case elongated, free-style glass tubes. They are designed to bring maximum light into the building.
Controversial architect
Canadian born, and Los Angeles raised, Gehry is one of the foremost architects in the world today. He is a Pritzker Prize Laureate. The award is considered the Nobel Prize of architecture. He is arguably the most controversial architect in America.
His random, building-block symmetry, implosive, explosive forms and "Gaudi-gaudy" originality may indeed make the site a tourist attraction; clearly a no-no to some St. Helena residents.
Since it was opened in 1991 in Bilbao, Spain, Gehry's renowned Guggenheim Museum has attracted millions of people to this Basque capitol city.
Highly congested area
Some St. Helena residents fear the structure could similarly attract large numbers here, and that it would strain the already limited resources of the community in what is already a highly congested area.
The Halls say that no titanium or gleaming metals will be used. These are materials found in some of Gehry's exotic, unconventional designs. He used titanium in the Guggenheim.
Gehry has also used aluminum and steel or copper sheeting in some of his other famous works, such as the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, or the Aerospace Museum and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
Spokesperson Sam Folsom says the Halls are only trying to change the industrial appearance of the site. The Gehry building will barely be seen from the road and is set in a courtyard 700 feet from Highway 29. "It's hidden by a 25 foot high slope and a vineyard," he said.
'In keeping with valley'
"It won't be a national museum or a concert hall designed to attract thousands of people," he said. "Although it is an ultra modern design, we believe it's in keeping with the other architectural landmarks in the valley."
The building in question is only 7,600 square feet, according to Folsom. "Less than 700 square feet, mainly the skylight portion is visible to view because of the foliage and berm," he said.
A smaller atrium, also designed by Gehry, will be built in the proposed courtyard. According to the Halls, the buildings will incorporate wood, cement, stone and low-reflective glass.
Local architect John Lail will design the winery and storage buildings.
Trees will line property
Folsom says he and the Halls have met with several concerned neighbors and have attempted to mitigate their issues. "Several have asked for a tree-lined boarder around the property, but not higher than 35 feet. We have included that," he said.
Initially the plans called for 88 parking spaces, according to Folsom. "Because some of the residents were worried about visitors overflowing on to their properties, we increased parking to 157," he said.
All of the tanks, sheds and winery equipment will be in buildings set between 455 feet to 700 feet from the Highway 29. The barrel and aging cellars will be underground, hidden by a 20-foot high berm. A vineyard will be planted on the slope.
Berm higher than restaurant
Those in opposition also question if removing one eyesore would create another. They say the 20-foot sloping berm will be 6 feet higher than the nearby Spot Restaurant.
According to the source, a 20-foot concrete retaining wall "will tower over and cast a shadow over the adjoining mobile home park."
Downsizing to quality is basically the plan for the new winery, according to Craig Hall, chairman and founder of the Hall Financial Group. "We have a permit to produce 1.2 million cases of wine, but our ultimate goal, instead, is to produce about 135,000 cases of ultra-premium varietal wines," he said.
"Even looking 20 years into the future, we doubt our total volume will go up beyond several hundred thousand cases," Folsom said. "We don't foresee a time when we would ever approach the 1.2 million cases in our permit."
Halls' meteoric history
The Halls venture into St. Helena and the Napa Valley has been meteoric and extensive. It began in 1995 when the 19-acre, Sacrashe vineyard was purchased in the hills above Rutherford. The Kathryn Hall Winery is being built there. It is to be a small, single vineyard estate winery.
In 2002, the Halls purchased an additional 185 acres along Silverado Trail just north of Napa, and the 140-acre Hardester vineyard in Pope Valley this year. Along with the purchase of the NVCW from Golden State Vintners in 2003, the Halls have 537 acres in Napa Valley with 358 in vineyards.
The Halls own an additional 458 acres of land in the Alexander Valley, including the 53-acre T bar T vineyard. These properties were purchased in 2003.
Company based in Dallas
Craig Hall, who is originally from Ann Arbor, MI, is a real estate developer, entrepreneur, and author. His company, the Hall Financial Group is based in Dallas, Texas. He was involved in the River Terrace Hotel and the Hilton Garden Inn developments in Napa.
Born in Berkeley and raised in Mendocino, Kathryn Hall was the United States Ambassador to Austria from 1997 to 2001. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the Hastings School of Law, she worked in the district attorney's office in Berkeley before she became a vice president with Safeway Stores. She also managed her parents' Mendocino vineyard for 10 years.
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html