The old Kmart store on Auburn Boulevard is expected to undergo a facelift this year to accommodate both a discount retailer and a massive indoor trampoline arena in the 90,000-square-feet building.
Once listed in city documents as a potential spot for a new hotel in Citrus Heights, City Senior Planner Casey Kempenaar told The Sentinel the location on the northern border of the city is now in process to become a new Big Lots store and a Rebounderz arena.
While Big Lots is a familiar face to the region, Rebounderz will be making it’s debut to the Sacramento area with a 55,000-square feet “extreme fun center.”
According to a letter sent out by the city to nearby neighborhood associations, a minor use permit is being sought to allow Rebounderz “to operate a 24-hour commercial recreation facility in a retail building.”
The facility is planned to feature several different trampoline play areas for both children and adults, party rooms, an obstacle course, and a seating area for parents. Plans also include the sale of food, beverages, and retail items.
The trampoline-focused franchise business launched its first location in 2008 and now lists 10 locations on its website, with one operating in Panama.
Rebounderz locations, the nearest one being in Rohnert Park, are known to feature restaurants on-site and offer regular events like “After School Dodgeball” tournaments and “Teen Night” on Fridays, with DJ music and lighting effects.
According to Kempenaar, the city has not received any feedback by affected neighborhood associations who were notified of the proposal last year. He said the project is currently in design review and will only need staff-level approval from the planning division, rather than a full planning commission hearing or vote.
Mark Marvelli of Stafford King Wiese Architects, the proposal’s applicant, plans for the location to include modifications to the old Kmart building and adjacent parking lot, as well as ADA upgrades, landscaping, and an additional loading dock for Big Lots.
He estimated construction would start this summer, with both tenants open for business “by the end of the year.”
Related: Prominent gateway arch, signal proposed for Auburn Blvd
A proposed signalized intersection and archway on Auburn Boulevard near the old Kmart is also “moving forward,” according to Kempenaar. The proposed arch was presented to the city council in February 2016, but city staff said previously that work would not likely commence on the project until 2019.
The Kmart store at 8501 Auburn closed in April 2016 as part of what the company called an effort “to reduce ongoing expenses… and accelerate the transformation of our business model.” The closure was one of four Kmart stores to shut doors in California last year.
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