SPECIAL SECTION | ROHNERT PARK
Adega Apartments in northwest Rohnert Park. [Photo courtesy Development Services Department, City of Rohnert Park]
Following the plan From parks to ADUs to student housing—how Rohnert Park encourages residential development
By Jessica Zimmer R ohnert Park stands out in Sonoma County and the North Bay as a city that is attracting a variety of talented developers and completing multiple residential developments on schedule. The key to these achievements has been following the city’s 2000 general plan, says Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Hollingsworth Adams, who is also city councilmember for District 5. “The 2000 plan outlined the specific development areas like the University District, close to Sonoma State University, where developers are still constructing housing today. Determining where development should take place and having infrastructure to support new homes allows the city to grow in a stable and predictable way,” says Hollingsworth Adams. As of fall 2024, Rohnert Park is discussing plans for a 28-acre downtown. The area will include a mixed-use center of retail shops,
restaurants, a boutique hotel and up to 450 residential units. This part of town will be built in partnership with El Segundo-based developer CenterCal Properties. The city also continues to encourage private development of housing east and west of Highway 101. “The majority of development is happening in specific and planned developments. Presently, we turn our focus to SOMO, a 200-acre mixed-use sustainable development that will bring 1750 homes to Rohnert Park over the next two decades. Our residents enjoy building community and welcoming new friends to experience what we have been so grateful to have, an amazing community,” says Rohnert Park Vice Mayor Gerard Giudice, city councilmember for District 3. Giudice says in recent years Rohnert Park has become more ethnically diverse, with a large Asian American and Pacific Islander population and many Turkish and Kurdish residents.
70 NorthBaybiz
November 2024
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