Thousands More Commuters from Rohnert Park to Flood the 101 Freeway

Sonoma County is expected to add THOUSANDS of new housing units in Rohnert Park which will have dramatic impacts on the 101 Highway commute.

Thursday, January 2, 2014, 1:30 pm

State Farm campus buyer plans transit-based community

City sees 30-acre site as its new ‘heart’

By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter

An aerial view of the former State Farm campus. (image credit: Cushman & Wakefield)

ROHNERT PARK — A Southern California-based housing developer purchased the nearly 30-acre former State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance campus, a move toward realizing a long-held community goal to create a new “heart” for Sonoma County’s third-largest city.

Several buyers considered acquiring the property in the three and a half years since the insurer pulled up stakes from the 320,000-square-foot insurance claims center complex at 6400 State Farm Dr., but Irvine-based SunCal Cos. opted to pursue acquisition, closing the deal Dec. 24.

The sale price wasn’t disclosed. Purchasing entity North Bay Community, LLC, financed $30 million of the acquisition through New York-based Catlin U.S. Investment Holdings, according to public documents.

“We are very, very bullish on the Bay Area in general, and the North Bay has tremendous potential,” said Joe Guirra, who oversees SunCal’s Northern California acquisitions and entitlements. “The site has great infill potential.”

Entrance to former State Farm campus in Rohnert Park.

As one of the nation’s largest privately held developers of master-planned communities, SunCal has been known for working with huge projects throughout the U.S. with hundreds of acres and homes. The developer also has undertaken several projects of the size of the one in Rohnert Park, including a small project near San Rafael a number of years ago, according to Mr. Guirra. One such project is a 50-acre undeveloped property near Vallejo and Benicia that SunCal is in contract to buy.

SunCal has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, Savannah, Ga., and Melbourne, Fl. In Northern California, the developer in November received approval for nearly 2,000 homes, school, parks and shops in the 189-acre Dublin Crossings partial redevelopment of the Camp Parks Army base in Dublin. SunCal also is securing entitlements for the Delta Coves project in eastern Contra Costa County as well as several projects around Stockton. Large projects are under way in Savannah, Washington, Austin and Las Vegas.

Two major things that made SunCal pursue the Rohnert Park opportunity over the past year was a major redevelopment planning effort city government has under way and a Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit station planned to be built next to the property, according to Mr. Guirra.

“A clear trend in development is pedestrian access, and that is easier to do when you have a library and shopping center across the street and transit coming in the next couple of years,” he said.

The first aspect is an anticipated three-year planning effort for the 282-acre Central Rohnert Park Priority Development Area. The City Council launched the land-use planning initiative early last year after receiving a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to promote transit ridership.

‘At the heart of our city’

The city has been trying to create a downtown area for years, and departure of State Farm in July 2011 opened up a field of opportunities. New civic buildings and mixed-use developments were added to the City Center district across Rohnert Park Expressway to