Building Blocks
Eric Hiatt posed the question: How can a boutique development firm and a local architecture studio come together to add value and transform downtown Redding for people to want to eat, live, work and play?
“We started one building at a time,” he says. “We found a real niche in buying old buildings that shouldn’t be torn down, but we find the gold in them.”
Hiatt and Downtown Collection LLC partner Luke Miner, along with RAD Studio Principal architect Ryan Russell and Designer David Harrington, and commercial real estate broker Chris Haedrich, found the value in transforming the dilapidated vision of the downtown mall of a few years back into a vibrant area that draws locals and visitors alike.
“My goal would be for every space to be active downtown with retail on the ground floor and office and residential in the upper levels,” Hiatt said. He admits it’s a long-term vision, but adds that it’s like Kevin Costner’s “Field of Dreams” movie – “If we create amazing spaces downtown, they will come. We’re building that space that upper-middle class Gen X and Y people want.”
The Downtown Collection/RAD Studio partnership started with the former Salvation Army building on Pine Street, turning it into what Hiatt says stepped up the game as far as quality of space in the sleek, modern building leased by Bethel Music. “It’s really the nicest remodel in all of Redding,” Hiatt says.
Russell, who grew up in Redding before heading away for college and returning, says the old downtown was lacking vibrancy and people didn’t want to spend time there. “Our Studio has worked on several down revitalization projects in the past few years I’ve and we are seeing the area come to life with big changes,” he says. “We believe there is much more to come and plenty of potential.”
And Russell doesn’t just preach downtown revitalization, but lives and works it with his RAD Studio offices at the entrance to the Market Street Promenade. He and Harrington designed the “Welcome to Redding” sign greeting visitors as well as designed other streetside and seating amenities on the Promenade. “It’s really rewarding nice to be a part of the change happening, and reinvest in the city you grew up in,” Russell says. “I think the potential is huge for Redding to have a thriving downtown experience and our studio is able to reimagine and bring out the best in the current built environment downtown.”
Hiatt points to the RAD Studio in the Plant Daddy building (the former Halsey Karate space) as an example of transforming the space rather than demolishing and rebuilding. “What we did with Scott Halsey’s karate studio, that’s an amazing transformation,” he says. “There’s a lot of character and the RAD team found the feasibility in the remodel. RAD Studio’s fingerprint is all over downtown.”
Hiatt says the partnership is beneficial across all avenues: turning properties vibrant again, showcasing the team’s amazing skill and adding value for both owners, sellers and the community as a whole.
“We love the positive momentum we’re seeing downtown and our goal is to help it continue. We’re committed to investing more in Downtown Redding and are actively looking for our next project,” says Miner
“One of the things Luke and I pride ourselves in is finding these sleeping properties at a price that gives the owner something and allows us to do something amazing,” Hiatt says. “I want it to be something special. I would love our call to action to be, ‘If you have property and want to make it amazing, give us a call.’”
