These projects involve the transformation of abandoned, blighted, or contaminated lands, in environmentally sensitive and visible locations. By recycling neglected or obsolescent sites into vibrant, walkable, beautifully-designed mixed-use places, we enjoy the satisfaction of creating exceptional value for our partners, and for our community.
Keith Rogal was the founder of The Carneros Inn in Napa, California; is managing partner of the Napa Pipe mixed-use development project; and is directing the reuse and development planning for the former Copia property in Napa’s Oxbow District.
Keith conceived of the Carneros Inn project in 1997 and managed all aspects of its development, from initial land assembly through its operational launch and marketplace acceptance as a distinctive and highly regarded luxury resort. At Napa Pipe, he identified the investment opportunity and has directed the project from its inception. His responsibilities have included management of all site planning and design, engineering, environmental analysis, and public hearing and community outreach efforts. His role with the redevelopment of the Copia property is similar, although in that case the work performed is on behalf of a third-party institution, rather than as a principal investor-manager. He has also led other long-term development or advisory efforts on behalf of public agencies, such as Miami-Dade County, and large landowners, including the Hearst Corporation.
Keith’s professional activities have focused exclusively on the creative reuse of previously developed sites. His work is guided by the principles of the Charter of the Congress of New Urbanism, to which he is a signatory, and was shaped by his upbringing in the family’s international group travel business. That fortunate family experience allowed him the opportunity to experience and appreciate the attributes of beautiful and distinctive places throughout the world; places which over time had established, encouraged and enhanced their special character.
Keith was raised in New England, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in History and Literature from Harvard, and earned a master’s degree from the Yale School of Management, before becoming a Californian. He is a resident of Napa.
Rogal Projects are inevitably complex undertakings, which require outstanding teamwork, drawing on first-rate colleagues and consultants with diverse sets of skills, some of whom are listed here:
The Carneros Inn is a mixed-use resort hotel, comprised of approximately 140 individual buildings on 27 acres, in Napa, California. When first identified as a potential development site by Rogal, it was three separate and deteriorating properties containing a blighted mobile home park and a 500 space RV/boat storage yard. The 7-year development process included substantial community input and incorporated a wide range of environmentally progressive tools and techniques. Within a short time after its opening, it had garnered top marks in the major travel magazines and received favorable mention in more than 200 articles. Its room rates, home prices, and customer loyalty soared to among the highest in the market, and it received architectural awards never before granted to a hotel development.
When the riverfront industrial property known as Napa Pipe came up for sale in 2005, it represented the largest piece of land in Napa County with potential for residential mixed-use development. Rogal + Walsh + Mol along with financial partner Farallon Capital Management purchased the property, and crafted a reuse plan for this centrally-located brownfield site. After a community outreach and discussion process unprecedented in Napa history, the County’s General Plan was amended to permit the creation of a wholly new type of neighborhood on this site: a compact, walkable, urban neighborhood, with great streets, parks and public amenities, expressly designed for the needs and desires of today’s smaller households of all ages and incomes. The plan was recognized by the US Green Building Council as LEED-Gold and will, when complete, likely be the largest single-project investment ever made in the County of Napa.
