Rancho Cordova Council Moves Ahead with Downtown Dova Project
Source: Sacramento Business Journal
Brokers: Scott Kingston , David Scanlon
Rancho Cordova City Council members endorsed the vision behind the Downtown Dova project at the first public airing of the project on Tuesday, approving an economic development and participation agreement with the developers.
While details of that agreement are still to be hashed out, components such as a 13-acre land dedication, fee waivers and partial revenue rebates could be part of helping develop a 7,500-seat arena, housing, retail and hotels in the project.
“This is really an opportunity to establish the city as a regional destination and a regional entertainment venue,” City Manager Micah Runner said in introducing the project presentation to the council.
KozPure Development and Alpha One Sports & Entertainment, the groups backing the proposal on about 24 acres of undeveloped land, pitched it as a way to not only give the city a long-sought “downtown” at Kilgore Road and Trade Center Drive but also raise its stature.
Josh Wood and Charanjeet “Charlie” Tiwana-Purewal, partners in KozPure, introduced a project team of architects, commercial real estate brokers and economic experts who shared specific details about the project, including:
- An arena with a strong indoor-outdoor feel, such as interior balconies overlooking an outdoor public plaza, and a capacity of as much as 8,000 for concerts
- Estimated economic impact of $4.5 billion and 37,000 jobs over the first 12 years
- Urban development expertise from Turton Commercial Real Estate, which has brokers with experience in similar projects such as Project Elevate in Elk Grove and the Downtown Commons area around Golden 1 Center in Sacramento
“We get asked to be a part of very visionary projects, and we don’t say yes to everything,” said Turton Commercial Senior Vice President Scott Kingston to the council. He and David Scanlon of Turton Commercial will represent the developers for leasing an expected 140,000 square feet of commercial space in Downtown Dova.
The unanimous vote begins a process of crafting a formal development agreement for the project between the city and the developers, with Runner mentioning several possible components, such as the city keeping sales tax revenue generated by the project but transient-occupancy tax from the hotels going back to KozPure for further project investment.
While the arena and exterior plaza, which could start construction in about a year, would be the project’s first phase, Runner laid out the city’s expectations for the full project to also include at least 650 residential units, two hotels with a total of 800 rooms and one with a four-star designation, and a possible card room.
Those additional elements are expected to come in future phases, with the exact numbers subject to market conditions, according to KozPure. The group has also discussed higher potential maximums for the project, such as about 1,000 residential units.
Earlier Tuesday, the developers announced professional men’s and women’s expansion teams from the Major Arena Soccer League will be tenants for the arena, with their first season set for November 2027.
When the council might get a formal development agreement to vote on was not disclosed. But council members seemed likely to be amenable to that idea, with some gushing over the project’s potential.
“You’re checking all the boxes,” Mayor SIri Pulipati said to the development team. “More than just the numbers of what you’re building, Josh and Charlie, is giving us pride.”