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Nearly 20 years after Pacific Lumber Company shuttered the Fortuna mill, city officials are working with a Santa Rosa-based developer to craft a plan that would guide development at the ex-mill site and adjacent properties over the coming years and decades.

Mill District. Image: City of Fortuna.

The Mill District Specific Plan (MDSP) would create new planning and zoning standards for mixed-use development – primarily commercial infill and “high-quality” industrial and distribution uses – across 104 acres of underutilized land on the east side of Highway 101, south of Newburg Road and north of Kenmar Road. The MDSP would work in conjunction with Fortuna’s 2030 General Plan to update the city’s land use policies and zoning regulations to encourage new development within the largely vacant Mill District. 

The MDSP, like most long-range city planning efforts, simply seeks to steer development in a particular direction. In that sense, the plan is quite similar to Arcata’s Gateway Area Plan, but instead of high-density housing Fortuna is looking to infill the Mill District with commercial and industrial uses that would stimulate economic growth.

“[The city] isn’t really gearing up for any one particular use,” Shari Meads, the city’s community development director, told the Outpost during a recent phone interview. “It’s such a large site, there’s potential for commercial, industrial, retail, residential and civic uses. There will also be some open space areas near Strongs Creek. [The Mill District] is really going to be an area for both economic and residential growth in the city. That’s what we’re hoping for and that’s what this plan is geared to do.”

At the center of the Mill District is the 69-acre PALCO mill property, which was purchased last year by Santa Rosa-based design and project management firm Rizzo & Associates. (Shortly after buying the property, Rizzo Associates sold four of the original 73 acres to Wendt Construction.) The site has been rebranded as the Fortuna Mill Commerce Center and is actively being marketed as a business park with easy access to Highway 101 and nearby amenities.

Vincent Rizzo, owner of Rizzo & Associates, has spent the last year working with city staff on a conceptual site plan – linked here – for the future Fortuna Mill Commerce Center. The document includes inspirational color schemes and architectural renderings of industrial and retail buildings to show “what is possible at the site.”

“It won’t necessarily be built out as the concept appears on paper, but it gives a representation of the types of buildings and uses that we want to build there,” Rizzo told the Outpost. “We’re also listening intently to what the market is telling us. It’s a large project in the small market, so we want to be conscious of what the opportunities and the needs are.”

While the site is ideal for small- and large-scale manufacturing and industrial uses, nothing is completely off the table.

“We’re even talking with a couple of multi-family [housing] developers, which was not in the conceptual plan,” Rizzo said. “We’re realizing that there’s a big demand for housing and some of the companies we’re talking to are concerned about the lack of housing, so that may become a component of the project. This is very much a mixed-use project.”

The PALCO mill property was previously listed as a brownfield site by the Environmental Protection Agency due to decades of industrial activity. The previous owner, the Town of Scotia Company, LLC, worked with the Regional Water Quality Control Board to get rid of contaminants at the site. Rizzo said he was optimistic that the site would not require further environmental remediation.

“What we do know from the testing and the reports that we’ve received is that those pollutants have been dissipating over the years,” he said. “We don’t see it as detrimental or a major hindrance to the development of the property, but it is certainly something we have to address and adhere to the covenant [issued by the water board] when we work there in certain areas.”

Asked whether he had accepted any applications for tenants at the Fortuna Mill Commerce Center, Rizzo confirmed that he is “in negotiations with a number of prospective tenants, and even a couple of companies that would prefer to own the property,” but couldn’t say who.

Naturally, the social media rumor mill has churned out its own theories. A few folks on the Fortuna Happenings Facebook group said they had heard Home Depot was going to build a new store at the site. “No it’s legit lol,” one group member wrote to another, more skeptical individual.

Asked if there was any truth to the rumor, Rizzo confirmed that his firm “had been talking with Home Depot,” but said, “I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

“We know they wanted to be in the area … but, unfortunately, they view Fortuna as being too far south of Eureka, which is very odd to me,” Rizzo said. “You know, our site is a 16-minute drive from Eureka. It’s not very far, but for whatever reason these corporate entities like Home Depot … they look at demographics and various things and that’s been a common view. I think it is a misconception, but that’s the view that they currently have.”

Before Rizzo & Associates bought the site, FedEx had expressed interest in using it as a regional distribution facility. However, negotiations fell through and Rizzo & Associates was able to secure the purchase of the site in 2023.

“As I understand, that’s not really what the city wanted,” Rizzo said. “It’s such a key piece of property for the City of Fortuna and they’re hoping the site will be developed in ways that will benefit the city and the whole area. … This project is going to take years to build up, but I think we’re going to end up with something that’s going to be really good for the community.”

The city is in the process of finalizing the draft MDSP. Next, the plan will go through environmental review per the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Members of the public will have a chance to submit written comments on the draft plan through that process. 

“As we move forward, the city will keep citizens informed on what’s going on through postcard notifications and town halls,” Meads said. “We know we’re going to share the plan at upcoming planning commission and city council meetings at least a couple more times, so that will also be an opportunity for folks to provide feedback.”

The plan is slated for approval by the end of this year.

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