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“With the high cost of living in Sonoma County, and the growing number of low income families in Petaluma, the money the East Washington Place Project will provide for affordable housing is crucial for our residents. By supporting Regency's project, we are supporting the people of Petaluma.” - Welby Madsen, Petaluma Resident

Frequently Asked Questions about the project

After listening to recommendations from City officials and public comments, several changes have been made to the Target and East Washington Place project…

Local Art

Regency Centers has worked with an art consultant to develop a substantial and meaningful public art program at East Washington Place. Art will be integrated into the project as a whole and the artworks will relate specifically to Petaluma and its community, making this center a strong visual gateway for the city.

Fountain Head

Regency Centers selected Oakland-based artist Seyed Alavi for the first artwork which will be centrally located at the intersection of the project's two primary axes and will help create a gathering place. Alavi received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and is recognized nationally for his gallery exhibitions and public artworks. Click here to learn more about Seyed Alavi. For East Washington Place, he has proposed a sculptural fountain and student-made benches. His concept for Fountain Head was inspired primarily by his perception of the importance of individual Petaluma residents who created the city's history and are creating its current revitalization. In his words, “The people are what make up a community, and again it is primarily the people that make a neighborhood or a city a unique place to live.” The artwork's central sculptural element is a fountain in the form of a head. Referencing the concept of birth as well as Petaluma's history as the “Egg Basket of the World,” the form of the head will echo that of an eggshell. Poetry will be incorporated into Alavi's artwork through collaboration with Geri Digiorno, the former Poet Laureate of Sonoma County and founder of the Petaluma Poetry Walk. Digiorno will lead workshops with community members to develop poems which will then be embedded in the paving surrounding the fountain.

In addition to his collaboration with Digiorno, Alavi has been working with Dan Sunia, Petaluma High School's Industrial Technology teacher and Teacher of the Year in 2007, and his class to help students develop unique designs for benches they will fabricate for East Washington Place. Bench designs will be created by the students in response to some aspect of the project site, such as its former use as a high school, green building and recycling, poetry and text, or the natural surroundings of the region. These benches will be integrated into the landscape plan throughout the entire project.

The Nest

Regency Centers has selected Napa-based artist Gordon Huether to design and create the iconic work near East Washington Street. Huether has completed over 50 large-scale public art commissions and over 150 private commissions nationally. He has proposed The Nest, a sculpture made of found objects and fabricated materials that will rise approximately 27 feet tall. The sculpture features an illuminated egg atop a nest that rests on a windmill structure. The nest, to be created with a tangled mass of scrap metal, supports the project's intent to implement environmentally sensitive practices. The large illuminated egg resting on top of the nest may be made of Fiberglass. It will become a beacon for the site as well as an icon for the city, recalling Petaluma's history as an important egg-producing region. To further connect with Petaluma's agricultural roots, the base of the sculpture will be made of a reclaimed windmill tower.