Editor's Note
This must be the place
By Jason Walsh
I t was a day like any Saturday—or seemingly half the Saturdays I’ve spent since having kids. I was sitting at a small table in the parents’ foyer of a trampoline arena; most everyone else was flinging themselves several feet into the air, or against a padded wall, or into a deep foam pit. I was picking up my 13-year-old daughter from a birthday party at Rebounderz in Rohnert Park. The cupcakes hadn’t made the rounds yet, so I had some time to kill. For good or bad, my thoughts drifted toward work. Next year is NorthBay biz’s 50th year in publication—the mag launched as Sonoma Business in 1976—and among the special sections our editorial team has been planning is an in-depth look at one of the cool towns of the North Bay—its business community, plans for growth, history, what makes it a local destination. As the birthday cohort
held at Sally Tomatoes. Graduations at Sonoma State, concerts at the Green Music Center, performances at Spreckels and Graton Resort. Rohnert Park composes about 3% of the entire North Bay population— my guess is 99% visit the city at some point every year. Probably more than once. The city was built up in the 1950s and ‘60s around the then- still-new Highway 101 transportation corridor; neighborhood-centric, it never established a centralized downtown. Now even that’s going to change, as Rohnert Park is in a negotiation
Another Saturday at Rebounderz!
of eight middle school girls spent out the remnants of their loot in the arcade, my thoughts drifted toward the question of the moment: What community should NBb highlight in the section? I live in Novato, work in Santa Rosa—have worked at publications in Sonoma and San Rafael, vacationed in Napa, Stinson, Bolinas. My family pays regular weekend visits to Petaluma, Sebastopol, Fairfax, Mill Valley, Sausalito—there’s no shortage of cool communities around here. But my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a familiar routine—party over, remove bright blue Rebounderz trampoline socks, pile into car, left on Labath, right on Rohnert Park Expressway, merge onto Highway 101 for home. I could probably do it blindfolded. I’ve spent as much time the past 10 years in Rohnert Park as any city not sharing a zip code with my work office or my bedroom. The tally includes day trips to Rebounderz, Cal Skate, Nitro car racing, Scandia, the gone-but-not- forgotten Toob Town. It’s not all family stuff. I need two hands to count the work events my companies have
agreement with El Segundo-based developer CenterCal Properties to transform a 28-acre site the city owns at 6400 State Farm Drive. Homes, shops, restaurants, pedestrian space and a hotel are the vision for the $400 million project. In a few years, Rohnert Park—the place that has everything but a downtown—might just have one of the best downtowns in the North Bay. The answer to our question about which city to highlight was clearer than the disco lights at Cal Skate. In this issue sponsored by the City of Rohnert Park, our second-half special section takes an in-depth look at “The Friendly City” and its vision for the years ahead, development strategies, places to visit, history and more. The city’s Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Orloff refers to Rohnert Park as “the planned community with plans for the future.” It’s a great way to describe a city dedicated to moving forward toward bigger and better things—just like our magazine as we move into our 50th year. In the meantime, see you one Saturday very soon, at Rebounderz. g
November 2024
NorthBaybiz 11
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