John’s Soapbox

ECA Newsletter 3-21-19

Some Really Big Developments Happening in the NorthBay

Of the nine cities in Sonoma County, two of them have big news for new developments. Rohnert Park is moving forward with their Station Avenue project and the City of Healdsburg is moving forward on the old lumber site in downtown Healdsburg to develop several hundred housing units.

The project in Rohnert Park is at the site of the old State Farm offices at the corner of Rohnert Park Expressway and the SMART Rail line. Laulima Development is the same developer that did Santana Row in San Jose is in charge of this project and demolition has already cleared most of the site for construction. Construction should be underway right now with opening in 2020.

Soon to be built are 460 on – site apartments, 140,000 sf of retail store space and 130,000 sf of brand-new office space with a pedestrian and community-based town center that the City of Rohnert Park desperately wants for an “identity”. Close proximity to the SMART Rail station will enable folks to conveniently travel to and from Windsor, Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Novato and San Rafael with shuttle/ferry assistance into and from San Francisco.

The days of neglecting going out to dinner in Rohnert Park will soon be a thing of the past. Some great restaurants are going in to this development and Plow Brewery will be a local hotspot for sure. With all of the open space and parklike features included, this will really enhance the NorthBay for many decades to come.

Congratulations Rohnert Park! And thank you for adding much needed modern yet “Sonoma County-friendly” development to our area! Take a moment and enjoy the slide show depicting the plans for this development by clicking the link.

Further north of Rohnert Park, the little town of Healdsburg has some news of its own. The Mill District project in downtown Healdsburg was approved last week and Vancouver based developer Replay will be able to move forward on its plans to build 206 housing units and other amenities in the old lumber yard site just to the East and South of the Roundabout. Construction of utilities and infrastructure work should begin in the Fall of 2019. The first housing units could be completed as early as 2021 if planning and permits go smoothly.

Check out the artists rendition and the Plans on this link thanks to North Bay Business Journal.

Rohnert Park and Healdsburg are not the only Cities with big news. More to come in future newsletters!

That’s All Folks!