Mare Island: How the Synergy of People, Innovative Ideas, and Resources are Creating a Hip Place

Let’s head to Mare Island in Solano County, CA, for an example of what place-making in-the-making looks like.

Mare Island Naval Shipyard was one of the oldest and most distinguished shipyards in the United States. Established in 1854, Mare Island served as a crucial naval base for over 140 years before being closed in 1996.

Dave Phinney — the guy wearing the blue polo, front-left, in this photo — founded Orin Swift Cellars brand, which includes the “cult wine” called The Prisoner, and started Mare Island-based Savage & Cooke distillery and restaurant. He and Memphis-based Gaylon Lawrence, Jr., formed a partnership, The Nimitz Group, which bought Mare Island from Lennar and became master developer in 2019.

In 2020, the Nimitz Group hired Nashville-based Southern Land Company as their developer. SLC is a real estate development company that crafts beautiful homes, multifamily properties, and master-planned neighborhoods. In 2022, the Mare Island Company was formed by The Nimitz Group and SLC. To give credit where it is due, check out their website. Read their vision for Mare Island, review the comprehensive master development and site plan, and explore development updates and community workshop events. It is an extraordinary undertaking!

Our involvement occurred in 2020, and focused on the economic modeling for the Connolly Street Corridor and the Napa River waterfront. By that I mean we created a redevelopment framework and set of actionable strategies that were informed by demand-and-supply market trend forecasts, economic viability analysis, and sales forecasting for the multifamily residential, office, retail, food, and beverage components to the corridor and the waterfront specific plan. The findings from our residential and mixed-use analysis were used by the Nimitz Group and Southern Land Company to successfully get approval of an updated master plan and entitlements from the City of Vallejo, CA; and to further the programming and development phases.

Fast-forward to today. It is rewarding to read an article by Thrillist, 6 Reasons to Make Mare Island Your Next Weekend Trip.

This is definitely one of the most mind-blowing projects I have worked on and with an exceptionally brilliant team. A huge “thank you” to the catalysts of Mare Island for involving us in the effort!