A year since purchasing future downtown site, when will Rohnert Park’s vision come together?

When Rohnert Park purchased the 30-acre former State Farm property last April, officials billed the move as their favored way to speed progress on the city’s long-sought dream of building a downtown.

But nearly a year later, it’s no clearer when the city will break ground on the project.

Elected leaders and City Hall administrators acknowledge after decades of discussion and about 10 years since plans were first proposed for the site, the community is eager to see construction start.

“We’re all anxious to move dirt,” City Manager Marcela Piedra told the City Council during a recent discussion.

Officials say they’ve taken management steps to kickstart the project since purchasing the property at Rohnert Park Expressway and State Farm Drive for $12.5 million from San Francisco-based Laulima Development after they backed out of the project.

Rohnert Park last June hired a consultant to help craft a revamped vision for the site that calls for up to 500 apartments, shops and a pedestrian promenade.

The city later this year is expected to put out a call to developers who could bring that plan to life and next year plans to start infrastructure work to get the site shovel ready for whoever is ultimately chosen.

Early estimates put the start of construction of the apartments and other elements in 2025.

Incorporated in 1962, Rohnert Park was laid out as a planned community with neighborhoods built around schools, parks and commercial strips, but no civic center to serve as the city’s core.

The timing of the project — and whether it will ultimately be built — is still largely out of the city’s hands as market factors and a possible economic downturn could impact construction.

Cost is another key variable. A 2019 analysis put the price of infrastructure work alone for the site at about $38 million.

However, while they can’t yet guarantee a project will be built, city administrators say they view the land purchase and millions of dollars already spent on a future downtown as an investment and not a wager.

The project is a top priority for residents — and the council reaffirmed its commitment to moving it forward during a goal setting session earlier this year. The city also has taken measures to address challenges faced by prior private developers.

“We strongly believe that the city’s willingness to make investments to match private investments will provide the incentive necessary to move the downtown forward,” Assistant City Manager Don Schwartz said. “We do not consider the purchase a gamble, but rather a prudent investment in creating an attractive downtown that responds to one of the highest priorities for our residents.”

Plans call for a walkable space

A team of officials from various city departments has met since last June, seeking guidance and ideas from developers and planning experts. They’ve reviewed prior plans for the site and conducted retail market and economic analyses to better understand what is feasible to guide the vision for what residents want there.

A preferred design concept includes a walkable area with tree-lined streets and pocket parks, unique shops and restaurants and housing that will draw residents who will support those businesses.

Commercial space — but not office space — is planned on the north of the property and a hotel is planned on the northeast corner along the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit line that borders the property.

Project manager Paul Carey said planning staff members believe the project can support about 140,000 square feet of new retail and restaurants, about the size of a typical Costco store and about half the size of Montgomery Village in east Santa Rosa.

A market analysis found people spent $1.2 billion on retail and restaurants in Rohnert Park in 2021, and while building retail space is expensive there is demand for more, he said.

Plans call for up to 500 apartments on the site, including at least 25% that will be for lower-income earners.

Between 300 to 375 market-rate apartments are planned on the south side of the property and an affordable development with 100 to 125 affordable units is planned on the east of the site along the rail line. City staff hope this will open the project to grants and other funds for low-income and transit-oriented housing.

A north-south pedestrian path planned in the center of the site connects a 1-acre public plaza on the north where the city can host large events to a park on the south that runs along Commerce Boulevard.

The proposal has “something for everybody to enjoy,” which is one of the top goals in developing the site, Carey said.

Residents responding to the city’s 2023 community survey said they want a walkable downtown with both casual restaurants and fine dining, entertainment venues, brewpubs, gift and clothing shops and outdoor space where they can sit and socialize, Carey said.

About 1.5 acres will be set aside to expand the city’s 2-acre Public Works corporation yard on the southeast corner of the site. Relocating the yard was costly and there aren’t any other city-owned sites large enough to accommodate the department’s needs.

What to call the downtown?

City administrators have also been working internally to come up with names for the future downtown that reflect the history of the area.

A shortlist recently presented to the City Council includes:

• The Seed Farm to honor the agricultural heritage of the area.
• The Station or the Depot, nods to the rail line.
• Friendly Square, which pays homage to the city’s nickname “the Friendly City.”
• Hillside Center after nearby Sonoma Mountain.
• The Roh, which is pronounced like “row.”

The city will seek public feedback on the name and branding in the coming months.

Next steps

The City Council in March approved declaring the land as surplus, a first step required by the state to lease or sell government property to a developer.

Planning officials are drafting requests for qualifications for development partners, prioritizing construction of mixed-income housing and retail plus the incorporation of green space in plans.

The city anticipates issuing a request for qualifications this summer.

City planners will next work with the City Attorney’s Office to end the development agreement signed with Laulima and rescind prior planning entitlements for the site approved in 2018. This will provide a clean slate for a future developer, Carey said.

The city plans to carry out some infrastructure work on the site to help accelerate development. That’s likely to begin in mid-2024.

Proposed infrastructure work includes removing the foundation left from the office building demolished in 2019 and remaining parking lots, grading the site and adding stormwater control features.

City officials have also recommended reconfiguring State Farm Drive and Rohnert Park Expressway to improve access to the site and add on-street parking.

In purchasing the site last April, the city placed a big bet on its ability to spur the project. But officials point to Rohnert Park’s track record developing city-owned sites into a hotel, apartments and other amenities.

The city has endorsed a path that balances a shared vision for an urban hub while limiting city-funded capital costs and ongoing operating expenses, officials said, touting steps to ensure construction can start as quickly as possible once a developer is chosen.

“The city cannot make guarantees on development timing given the nature of development economics,” Schwartz said, but the city will address some of the challenges that have stalled or slowed prior proposals.

The city doesn’t anticipate including office space, where demand is waning since the pandemic, or a parking garage which can be costly to build.

The infrastructure work will make the site more marketable to developers because it reduces buildings costs and allows them to start vertical construction more quickly, administrators have previously said.

The city used a similar approach when developing the 33-acre Stadium Lands site west of Highway 101.

The city in 2018 approved a form-based code, an urban planning measure that guides development and design of an area by establishing certain requirements, and conducted an environmental review.

Plans submitted to the city that adhere to both should face a streamlined approval process, which could help cut down developer costs and speed up construction, too.

The development approach is expected to have a neutral impact on the city’s operating budget, and residents’ tax burden, but will require a still somewhat unknown capital investment.

That investment will have to be weighed against other competing priorities with finite budgetary resources, especially in the event of an economic slowdown.

The city anticipates covering some onsite work and has budgeted $10.2 million in its capital improvement program for downtown improvements, Schwartz said.

The city’s ultimate financial contribution will be negotiated with the developer, he said.

The city is exploring using grants, bond financing and proceeds from the land sales to pay for the costs, as well as loans through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.