(NVR) - When the Copia signs were removed from its former building at 500 First Street, most Napans probably assumed the name was gone for good.

Until now.

Echoing its original mission when it first opened in 2001, the former Copia property in downtown Napa will be reborn as the “Culinary Institute of America at Copia.”

A south-side parking lot will become home to a mixed-use development offering housing, shopping and parking.

“We’re going to bring the building back to life,” said Mark Erickson, Culinary Institute of America (CIA) provost. “Our hope is to create an opportunity for people to come to Napa Valley, it will become known as the place you should start your visit at.”

The CIA and Triad Development of Seattle have joined forces to present a plan for the rebirth and redevelopment of the long shuttered museum of food, wine and the arts.

Triad Development will buy the Copia land south of First Street. The CIA will buy the land north of First Street. A closing date and purchase price have not been released yet, but the cost for Triad to develop its part of the campus alone would cost $150 million to $200 million and take three to five years. However, the CIA might be able to move in to the 78,000-square-foot Copia museum soon.

In an interview before they were to present the preliminary proposal to the Napa city Planning Commission on Thursday, which was not scheduled to take action, Erickson and Curt Johansen of Triad Development described their plans for the multi-acre Copia campus.

The CIA intends to turn the former Copia building into a museum of the culinary arts, including demonstration kitchens, cooking class spaces, two restaurants, display spaces and other educational features.

Erickson said the CIA has simply outgrown its space in St. Helena. The Greystone campus will remain open, but “This is a tremendous opportunity for us to bring our message to a large audience.”

According to Erickson, Robert Mondavi originally approached the CIA about partnering with Copia, but back then, the timing wasn’t right for the CIA.