From: Marie Galletta
To: CityCouncilListPublic
Cc: Ken Lafranchi
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Sale of Garage #5 to Airport Business Center Date: Monday, January 26, 2026 10:51:45 AM
Attachments: LETTER COSR ABC PURCH PARKING GARAGE 5 2026.pdf Dear Santa Rosa City Council,
Attached please find a letter from Ken Lafranchi of Lafranchi Architecture & Development regarding the sale of City Garage #5.
Thank you,
Marie Galletta
Administrative Assistant
Assistant Property Manager
Office Hours: M/T/Th 9am-4:30pm; Friday 9am-2pm
Lafranchidevelopment.com
ARCHITECTURE & DEVELOPMENT
phone 707.528.2449
fax 707.528.3229
100 E Street, Suite 204
Santa Rosa, California 95404 .
1.26.26 Santa Rosa City Council
100 E Street, Rm. 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Re: Sale of City of Santa Rosa Parking Garage #5
Airport Business Center as Buyer
Dear Santa Rosa City Council,
I am writing to voice my full support for the City of Santa Rosa’s sale of parking Garage 5, on Third Street, to the Airport Business Center.
As a local, Santa Rosa–based architect and the owner of the commercial building at 100 E Street, located at the corner of E and Third Street one block west of the garage, I have a vested interest in the future of the Garage 5 parcel and structure.
The benefits of selling to Airport Business Center are as follows:
• They have been intimately involved in the downtown area for many years. They served on the group of property owners to re-unify Courthouse Square and have been active members of the Downtown Action Organization since its inception. • They own 50 Old Courthouse Square adjacent to the parking garage and thus would almost assuredly produce a project that benefits downtown Santa Rosa. • Their design for the projects retains parking that is critical to ongoing businesses in the heart of downtown Santa Rosa.
• Their project will add 100 units of sorely needed downtown workforce housing. • The proposed project scale/height would blend well with current and upcoming projects in the downtown core.
• Their proposal would avoid the extremely disruptive demolition and loss of parking of the current garage. The environmental benefits of remodeling and utilizing the existing structure, with its embedded carbon, etc., are a huge positive element of the proposal.
Please feel free to contact me at any time if you would like to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Ken Lafranchi
Architect Lic. C 23475