Nearly a decade after receiving necessary permits from the city, construction work on a vacant 4.5-acre lot on Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights is expected to finally move forward this year.
The 93-bed SummerPlace assisted living and memory care facility planned for 8220 Sunrise Blvd., located near the northern border of the city, originally received approval from the planning commission in 2008 — but the lot has continued to sit vacant for the past nine years.
Associate City Planner Nick Lagura told commissioners Wednesday night that the owner, Neil Huettenhain, had encountered financing issues “beyond his control” which delayed the project, but the developer “believes he now has the proper team in place to move the project to construction.”
Latest approval by planning commissioners on Jan. 11 granted the project an additional and final 12-month permit extension, with no major modifications made to the original plans. The extension request was approved unanimously, following an uneventful public hearing where no comments from the public were made.
The latest site plan submitted to the city indicates a total of 43 parking spaces, a circular driveway design in front with a covered drop-off area, and a prominent water feature in the middle of the paved circle. The facility is also shown to feature a two-story design with an enclosed courtyard in the rear.
According to various media reports, Huettenhain has been involved in the development of assisted care facilities in Rancho Cordova, Lincoln, and other parts of the region. In 2014, the Sacramento Business Journal reported the Citrus Heights care facility was estimated to cost $22.8 million to construct.
Another assisted living facility for memory care, The Courte at Citrus Heights, opened on Sunrise Boulevard last year, about two miles away from where Huettenhain’s facility will operate.
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