First of several new buildings finally approved for Auburn Blvd.

By Carole Hawkins–
Development of the long-vacant pads in front of Costco and Walmart recently inched closer to reality.

Last month, the Citrus Heights City Council unanimously approved a design permit for an 8,700 square-foot building on “Pad 11” at Stock Ranch Plaza. The parcel is located on Auburn Blvd. at the main entrance drive to the Costco shopping center, just across from Applebee’s Bar & Grill.

Plans show the building could accommodate up to five retail or restaurant tenants. The building would be about 24-feet high with a stucco exterior and maroon fabric awnings, according to renderings.

As part of the approval, the City also agreed to modify a requirement in the site’s development guide at the request of the developer, lowering the required percentage of transparent glass facing Auburn Blvd. from 60 percent to 50 percent. The change additionally allows active seating areas, such as those used for restaurants, to substitute for portions of the required transparent façade. The submitted design shows active seating is planned for storefronts at either end of the building.

Although construction at the site was planned to begin last year, amending the transparent glass requirement along with modifying the traffic loop inside the plaza appear to have contributed to the project’s delay. The transparent glass requirement was initially put in place to ensure new developments fit the area and were designed to have their back side “not appear to be the ‘back’ of the building,” according to City documents.

Construction at the site is now expected to begin as early as this fall, with final delivery occurring one year from now, according to CBRE Sacramento Senior Vice President Jon Schultz, the property’s leasing agent. The property is owned by California C&S Properties.

Although Schultz did not comment on whether any future tenants had been confirmed at the site, C&S spokesman John Stock previously told The Sentinel that two food/restaurant tenants had signed agreements for space in the plaza and a handful of others were “almost signed,” but he declined to say who.

The new building will be the first of nine yet to be developed at Stock Ranch Plaza. The most recent site plan anticipates other buildings ranging in size from 2,300 square feet to 5,000 square feet and one 34,000 square-foot building.

Development of Stock Ranch Plaza began with construction of the Costco building in 2003 and Walmart in 2005. The site went dormant until Applebee’s received approval to build a new restaurant in 2015.