Rohnert Park council approves $12.5 million purchase of former State Farm site

The Rohnert Park City Council approved purchasing the former State Farm site for $12.5 million on Wednesday, setting in motion a plan officials hope will lead to the creation of the city’s long-desired downtown.

Though a project likely is years off, the city hopes purchasing the 30-acre property from San Francisco-based Laulima Development will help speed up progress on the plan. Laulima bought the State Farm Drive site in 2017 with the intention of building a $400 million housing and commercial development but construction stalled.

Owning the property will also give the city more say in what’s built and how it fits into the city’s larger plan for the area.

“We don’t have to beg for a civic space or an open space,” Vice Mayor Willy Linares said. “We can create our downtown in the heart of downtown, and I very much look forward to that.”

Linares, who announced Monday he was resigning from his post, said he is proud to be part of Wednesday’s decision, a unanimous one by the council that was met by applause from city staff and residents in the audience.

Council members praised the move and noted the creation of a hub to form the city’s core is something residents have sought for decades. They praised City Manager Darrin Jenkins for taking the lead and prior councils who made the project a priority.

Jenkins said he’s already received calls from people interested in working with the city to develop the site.

In addition to the purchase, the council approved appropriating $200,000 this fiscal year to help hire a senior analyst who will help manage the project, fence off the property, maintain it and start work to update the entitlements.

The city hopes to fill the position by June and set the salary at about $178,000, with costs this fiscal year expected to be about $15,000.

“We are going to need help to develop this,” Jenkins said.

Councilwoman Susan Hollingsworth-Adams, whose family has lived in Rohnert Park since 1961 — a year before its incorporation — said the purchase was a good move for the city.

“This is an unbelievably fantastic opportunity for the city of Rohnert Park,” she said. “It’s not without its risks but I believe the rewards far outweigh its risks.”

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