Rohnert Park Ripples by Gina Belforte — December 2018

ROHNERT PARK CITY COUNCIL

November 30, 2018

The former State Farm Insurance site, at the corner of

The project has 140,000 square feet of retail, 130,000 square feet of office, 460 residential units and a 156 unit hotel. Independent restaurants will face the main avenue containing a curb-less plaza which will point to a portico with access to SMART. Offices will fill the second floor of four main buildings, all looking down on the main street and the plaza. The goal is for outdoor dining opportunities plus an active pedestrian oriented street environment along the main corridor.

There will be slip street coming off the Expressway which leads to an enclosed 3 story parking garage. The project will include Class 1 and Class 2 bicycle parking, on-site bike share programs, car share programs and designated pick up and drop off locations for ride share services as well as a shuttle from SMART to regional destinations.

Each month there will be an event, such as car shows, art shows, cooking demonstrations in the pavilions, and potential ice skating rink in the winter.

The most exciting prospect of this development is the ability for our community members to have a downtown destination they can go to create lasting memories with family and friends. We have beautiful parks and places to go eat but this project brings a new dimension to Rohnert Park.

It allows us all to meander through the shops, grab a coffee or lunch with someone, listen to a band or watch our children ice skate all in downtown RP. It gives RP a new heart, a seat of emotion that we can share with others we care for and about.

The developer will begin demolition on the former office building sometime next month and the desire is to have the main part of the downtown open by September of 2020 with most residential units completed by 2021.

For many decades we have been dreaming about a downtown for Rohnert Park and even had community meetings in 1998 to brainstorm how to bring one to fruition.

In 2016 we dared to bring our dream to a reality by adopting the Central Rohnert Park Priority Development Area Plan. We wanted our citizens involved and asked them to attend community meetings and charrettes, take surveys to tell us what they wanted in their downtown. The community dared to dream with us. We developed a plan that addressed the overall desires and now are full steam ahead for the development of a new major center for Rohnert Park.

This has truly been a community, private and public partnership.

Gina Belforte is currently a council member on the Rohnert Park City Council. She is serving her third city council term and was first elected to the Rohnert Park City Council in 2008. Gina currently serves on the Economic Development Committee, the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, on the Water Committee and is a Rohnert Park Foundation board member. Countywide she serves on the Legislative Committee and has served for over 10 years as a Health Action Liaison. Regionally, she is serving her 3nd term as a Golden Gate Bridge Director.