Partner leaves E. Side project
One of the developers behind Essex Modern City, a $150 million mixed-use project billed as potentially a major draw for Denver Heights, is out of the picture.
Local developer Efraim Varga was working with Californiabased investment firm Harris Bay on the 8-acre project at Essex and South Cherry. But Varga sold his share earlier this year and turned his attention instead to a solar company he’s launching.
“The pace that we’re moving at ... does not give me time to focus on both projects,” Varga said. “Harris Bay is a great company. They’re doing great things over there. My path took a different direction.”
Varga approached Harris Bay executives in 2015 with the idea of building on the former pallet manufacturing site. The partners envisioned a mix of office space, retail, apartments, condominiums, townhomes and a food hall along with a rock climbing wall, murals painted by local artists and other flair.
City Council members approved zoning changes for the project in 2016, and construction was expected to start by the end of 2017.
“It’s going to be a catalyst for the neighborhood,” Varga said in an interview in 2017. “It’s going to do exactly what the Pearl did, and bring in more developers.”
But there’s been little progress. Other projects Varga is involved in, such as Sunglo Urban Homes on South Presa, have also been delayed.
Work on Essex Modern City has been held up by efforts to have the area designated as a quiet zone, which would stop trains coming through from routinely sounding their horns, and other infrastructure and utilities approvals, Harris Bay co-founder Jake Harris said.
The quiet-zone designation comes with certain requirements. Because trains aren’t using their horns as frequently, sites must have flashing lights, gates and other safety measures, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Only local governments or public agencies can establish quiet zones.
Funding and final engineering details for the quiet zone are being ironed out, and then the approval process starts, Harris said. He’s hoping those components will be in place by year’s end.
“Several people in the neighborhood said they have wanted a quiet zone for decades,” Harris said. “It is hard to raise a family
with kids and (trains) blasting their horns 40 times a day and night. They have stopped complaining because they felt it was just on deaf ears . ... If we can be a little part of helping to bring in a better quality of life to the area, that makes all the hoop-jumping worth
it.”
In the meantime, the firm is hosting monthly art events at the property and put on a music and art festival in May. Colorful murals on the site’s industrial buildings have drawn eager photo-takers, Harris said, and are “attracting people from all over.”