Blue Diamond finds buyer for majority of Midtown campus. Developer plans housing

Blue Diamond said Tuesday that a local developer intends to buy 35 acres of the almond collective’s sprawling plant in midtown, and build it out with housing and retail. The announcement marked a sign of progress in the months-long effort to ensure the century-old manufacturing site is converted for new uses.

The developers — Bardis & Miry Development — said in a news release Tuesday that their “initial vision” for the property sees it transformed into a walkable, mixed-use community with 1,000 to 2,000 homes, ground-floor retail and other amenities.

Blue Diamond was represented in the deal by Ken Turton, of Turton Commercial Real Estate, whose firm has handled other complex transactions in the region. It represented CalPERS in the sale of 301 Capitol Mall — the vacant city block that was once home to the Sacramento Union newspaper — to the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in 2024. His firm handled the sales of a handful of buildings on K Street, consulted on Project Elevate, a retail and entertainment project in Elk Grove, and was hired to lease the retail space in the “Downtown Dova” project in Rancho Cordova.