An aerial view of an office complex for sale along Auburn Blvd. highlighted in red. Size is approximate. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– A buyer is being sought for three office properties in Citrus Heights, with a $4.4 million price tag.
The three properties, which make up the Auburn Oaks Plaza on Auburn Boulevard and Auburn Oaks Court, feature nearly 42,000 square feet of office space, according to commercial real estate site LoopNet. The three office buildings are for sale as a package deal and sit on almost 11 acres of land.
According to the listing, the property has 25 percent, or 10,659 square feet of rentable vacant office space available, and includes a section of “excess land” that could potentially include another pad site at the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Auburn Oaks Court. The exact size of the extra parcel is not known.
The three buildings on the property offer a total of 11 tenant spaces, according to commercial real estate company NEWMARK, with spaces ranging from 500 to just under 5,000 rentable square feet (RSF).
The first building is comprised of 18,400 square feet, building 2 is 20,200 square feet, and building 3 is 3,990 square feet. All buildings were built in 1988, according to the listing.
The office complex sits adjacent to Harris Industrial Gases and is directly across from a tire shop and collision repair shop, as well as a vacant property at the corner of Twin Oaks Avenue and Auburn Boulevard, slated to become a Food Truck Plaza.
The plaza is also located near the Riverside and Interstate 80 exit, near the border with Roseville.
“You’re close to Roseville, but the rents aren’t as high as in Roseville,” Senior Managing Director Rich Ellsworth with NEWMARK told The Sentinel Wednesday. According to the listing, the plaza’s proximity to Roseville offers tenants “a lower-cost alternative” for office space.
The plaza currently houses several businesses, including Del Oro Caregiver Resource Center, Madrone Ecological Consulting, Prestwood IT Solutions, Phlebotomy Training Solutions, and a discount fireworks superstore.
JOANN Fabric and crafts is located at 5489 Sunrise Blvd. // S. Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– Amid a surge of retail closures announced over the last year, another decades-old retailer has been spared closure in Citrus Heights.
JOANN, an 82-year-old fabric and craft retailer, announced in mid-January it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time within 12 months. The company is closing multiple stores across six states, according to USA Today, but zero closures are listed for stores located in California.
JOANN in Citrus Heights is located in the Sunrise Village shopping center at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Madison Avenue, which underwent a major remodel in 2021 and 2022. Following the remodel of the shopping center, JOANN moved from one building to another and reopened in March 2022.
Since the shopping center’s revitalization, the plaza has seen multiple new tenants, including Club Studio Fitness, which opened in September 2024, and Amazon Fresh, which opened in November 2024. Previously, JOANN occupied the building that is now Amazon Fresh.
JOANN originally announced in March 2024 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware, reporting at least $1 billion in debt. National news outlets reported the company secured $132 million in new financing, which was expected to reduce its total debt by about $500 million. On Jan 15, the Ohio-based retailer announced the second bankruptcy filing.
“Since becoming a private company in April [2024], the Board and management team have continued to execute on top- and bottom-line initiatives to manage costs and drive value,” Michael Prendergast, Interim Chief Executive Officer of JOANN, said in the press release. “However, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment.” Prendergast also cited “constrained inventory levels” as influential in the decision to undergo a “court supervised sale process.”
“We hope that this process enables us to find a path that would allow JOANN to continue operating as a going concern,” Prendergast said.
JOANN is located at 5489 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights.
By Sara Beth Williams– A Citrus Heights man was arrested last week on charges of homicide and now resides in Placer County jail.
On Thursday, Jan. 23, Sacramento County Sheriff deputies arrested 29-year-old Christopher Williams at his residence in Citrus Heights for homicide in the fentanyl poisoning death of 20-year-old Spencer Newsom, according to a news release from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Spencer was found dead in his Roseville apartment on Sept. 21, 2020. His cause of death was determined to be fentanyl poisoning, the release said.
A “comprehensive investigation” was completed by Placer Opioid Response Team detectives prior to Williams’ arrest. The Placer Opioid Response Team and Placer Sheriff Special Operations Unit, along with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, assisted in the arrest.
Williams was initially booked into the Sacramento County Jail for homicide, and then transferred to the Placer County jail in Auburn on Jan. 27, according to Placer County Police Communication Manager Elise Soviar. Placer County inmate records show he now resides in the Placer County main Jail as of Jan. 3o.
“I am incredibly proud of our detectives’ commitment to bringing the person responsible for Spencer’s death to justice. Let this serve as a clear message: we will not tolerate the sale of this deadly drug in our county,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said following the suspect’s arrest, adding that the case had gone cold, but detectives “didn’t give up.”
The arrest marks the first cold case fentanyl poisoning homicide arrest in the state, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, and the sixth murder charge filed in response to fatal fentanyl poisonings according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.
Arrest records show Williams has been arrested in years past on a string of charges, including possession of a narcotic controlled substance in 2019 by the Citrus Heights Police Department, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in 2020 in East Los Angeles, and possession of a controlled substance for sale in 2021 in Marina Del Rey.
“While seeking justice won’t bring back the life lost, our hope is to provide some closure for those who will never get to hug Spencer again,” Woo said.
Williams is being held in Placer County without bail, and is next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 20.
The corner of Auburn Blvd. and Old Auburn Road, known as Sylvan Corners, where Wonderful Chinese Restaurant and other businesses are located. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– A local Chinese restaurant in Citrus Heights was forced to close for one day in January due to major health code violations.
Wonderful Chinese Restaurant, located at Sylvan Corners, received orders to close following a Jan. 9 health inspection by the Sacramento County Environmental Health Division’s Food Protection Program due to major health code violations, including an “infestation” of rats, according to online health inspection records. After a follow up inspection on Jan. 10 at the request of the restaurant owner, the restaurant was given a green card and allowed to reopen.
Major health violations that required immediate attention in the first inspection at Wonderful Chinese included sightings of rat droppings in bulk food containers, as well as a gnawed plastic bag of sesame seed, and rat droppings on metal food cans and multiple rat droppings on shelves in the dry food storage room.
The restaurant was given a notice of the temporary suspension of their health permit, and forced to close “immediately” on Jan. 9, according to online records. Additionally, instructions were given to the facility to “get rid of the rats,” deep clean the entire facility, and discard all potentially contaminated food.
A reinspection the following day still found other minor violations, but the restaurant was “approved to reopen” according to the inspection report.
Minor violations during reinspection included multiple unclean surfaces, including refrigerator shelves, cooking utensils stored between tables and on unclean surfaces, unclean peelers stored alongside clean peelers, no visible thermometer on at least one refrigerator, and the need for a weather-strip seal on the bottom of the back screen door. Corrections that did not involve repairs were corrected immediately.
Wonderful Chinese Restaurant staff confirmed on Thursday that the restaurant was “closed for cleaning” on Jan. 9.
The Environmental Health Division’s Food Protection Program conducts, on average, 1,200 food facility inspections per month in Sacramento County, and two percent of inspections result in closure, Sacramento County spokesperson Ken Casparis told The Sentinel.
“Most restaurant owners and operators work quickly to resolve their issues and open within 1-3 days of the initial failed inspection,” Casparis told The Sentinel.
A green placard indicates a facility has passed inspection. A yellow placard signifies two or more major violations were found, which are typically corrected or mitigated immediately during the inspection process. A red placard represents an “imminent danger to public health and safety” and leads to a suspended health permit until all issues are resolved. Major vermin infestations and other serious hazards prompt a red placard.
Five percent on average receive yellow placards, and the rest receive green placards.
The Citrus Heights Community Center is now the Citrus Heights Event Center. // SB Williams
By Sara Beth Williams– The Citrus Heights Community Center has been rebranded after 15 years in use.
New signage can be seen outside what was once known as the Citrus Heights Community Center, which is now called the Citrus Heights Event Center.
Rebranding the community center, which first opened in 2010, was one of the city’s goals discussed during a 2024 Strategic Planning Meeting.
“The name change to ‘Citrus Heights Event Center’ better reflects the facility’s role as a regionally recognized venue for various events,” Citrus Heights communications officer Marisa Brown said last week, adding that while many other community centers traditionally focus on offering recreational activities, the Citrus Heights Community Center doesn’t.
The center has served as a venue for thousands of events, including the annual Best of Citrus Heights hosted by the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce, several business expos, luncheons, a Ukraine Relief fundraising event, multiple annual spaghetti feed fundraisers, weddings, annual crab feeds, various town hall meetings, the memorial for fallen Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy Danny Oliver, and more.
According to the city, the cost of the name change is “minimal” since most of the changes to be made will be made electronically. The cost to replace the lettering for the physical monument in front of the building was $8,300. Wayfinding signage on Fountain Square Drive and on the building itself will cost an additional $1,000, Brown said.
The city anticipates holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Events Center, but a date has not yet been determined.
Envisioned since the inception of the city in 1997, the 29,000-square-foot, $14 million event center features a reception hall holding nearly a thousand people, a large kitchen, and several other smaller rooms. The project was paid for in cash.
Along with a fountain and palm trees near its Fountain Square Drive entrance, a dedication plaque outside the Center commemorates the community’s volunteers with a quote reading, “What volunteers bring is the human touch, the individual, caring approach that no government program, however well-meaning and well-executed, can deliver.”
The city offers small event packages, medium event packages, large event packages, and conference and fundraising event packages, with several different-sized rooms to choose from. For more information regarding rates and availability, visit the city’s website here.
Sylvan Corners facing north in 1951. Sylvan School is on the left. // Citrus Heights Historical Society
By Sara Beth Williams– Beginning in February, the Citrus Heights Historical Society will be offering quarterly presentations about the history of Citrus Heights. The first presentation will take place Feb. 6 and will focus on Sylvan Corners, according to a press release from the society.
“For over 150 years, Sylvan Corners has been at the heart and center of the community,” the press release said. “Its name reflects an earlier time when the entire area was known as Sylvan. Sylvan Corners has witnessed much of the comings and goings that have made Citrus Heights what it is today.”
Sylvan Corners, or the intersection where Auburn Boulevard, Old Auburn Road and Sylvan Road all intersect, was part of the first transcontinental highway, known as the Lincoln Highway, then later, Highway 40.
The quarterly presentation series will take place on the first Thursday of the month in February, May, August, and November, according to the media release. Meetings are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Large Conference Room at Citrus Heights City Hall. Meetings are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
The Conference Room is located opposite the City Council Chambers, located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive.
The Citrus Heights Historical Society’s goal is to share with the public “interesting aspects of the history of our city.” according to its website. The society’s website provides historical commentary on businesses, landmarks, other historical sites, and through sharing biographies of residents.
The restrooms at Rusch Community Park are now open.
By Sara Beth Williams– After being closed for nearly a year, the restrooms on the east side of Rusch Community Park are back open.
A representative from Sunrise Recreation and Park District confirmed that the restrooms nearest the Rusch Park Community Center and basketball courts reopened at the end of 2024 after having been forced to close in February last year due to repeated incidents of vandalism.
A sign posted in mid-February 2024 stated that the restrooms had closed, and several portable toilets were seen in the parking lot for much of last year. All portable toilets have since been removed.
The closure was due to a pair of sewer ejector discharge pumps that failed, according to an email from Wayne Edmundson, superintendent of Parks and Facilities at Sunrise Recreation and Park District. The failure of the discharge pumps was a regular occurrence due to multiple instances of vandalism.
In the past few years, the park district has spent “a small fortune” trying to keep the facility operational, Edmundson said. The pumps become damaged when large materials and solid objects are flushed down the system.
Except for restrooms specifically used inside the gated pool area, there is only one public restroom facility on the east side of the park, where a basketball court, two playgrounds, and a covered picnic area are located.
Ryan Cappas stands in front of his family’s new softball training facility, Triple Crown Cages, 7255 Greenback Ln.
By Sara Beth Williams– A new softball and baseball training facility is now open in the Sam’s Club shopping center.
Triple Crown Cages opened in January in the vacant building that used to be home to Tuesday Morning. Ryan Cappas, who runs the business with his brother and father, Austin and Wayne Cappas, said the doors opened Jan. 1 and that the facility has already hosted trainings for several little league teams from the region.
“We’ve been attached to baseball for generations,” Cappas said of his family, adding that his dad played baseball up through junior college, his grandfather played baseball, and his dad’s great uncle played in the minor leagues. Cappas said his dad coached him and his brother growing up and still gives his brother pointers to this day. Austin Cappas currently plays baseball at the college level at Fresno Pacific University.
Cappas moved to Citrus Heights several years ago and said he began coaching his own son in t-ball and became involved with Sunrise Little League. The more he became involved, the more he said he recognized the need for more batting cages and training facilities.
“There’s a lot more baseball out here than there are facilities,” Cappas said.
The new Triple Crown Cages is in a 13,000-square-foot facility and offers eight batting cage lanes with state-of-the-art pitching machines. Three are 70-foot full-length lanes, four are 45-foot lanes, and the last lane Cappas called a “showcase” lane, which will feature the latest hitting-track system technology with a camera tracking system. All the lanes are lined with high-quality turf.
The name of the business is derived from the prestigious achievement known as the “Triple Crown” for professional baseball players. Any player who earns the highest batting average, the most home runs, and the most Runs Batted In (RBI’s) within one single season, earns a Triple Crown.
The facility is already sponsoring 8 little league teams in the area, and Cappas said when teams come in to train, they can open up the dividers between the lanes, which allows more room for teams to practice things like ground ball catching, as well as batting.
Pricing is broken up into 30- and 60-minute rental periods. Individuals or teams can rent one or multiple lanes at a time. Rentals begin at $35 for 30 minutes on a 45-foot lane, $40 for 30 minutes of training on a 70-foot lane, and $75 an hour for use of the showcase lane. Cappas said the company is still working on designing and pricing membership packages and added that many players in their teens and older will come to train on a recurring basis weekly or sometimes multiple times a week.
Signage for the building is expected to arrive sometime in February. A formal grand opening for the company is planned for March 1 and will include competitions and prizes.
Currently, Triple Crown Cages operates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Triple Crown Cages is located at 7255 Greenback Ln.
Tuesday Morning announced it had filed for bankruptcy in February 2023.
Ethan Conrad, CEO of Ethan Conrad Properties, and Bill Shirley, president of CHASEN, stand in front of a packed room of residents during a January CHASEN meeting, awaiting a presentation from Ethan Conrad, Jan. 22, 2025. // SB Williams
By Mike Hazlip– At least 75 people gathered at a neighborhood area meeting Tuesday night to hear commercial real estate developer Ethan Conrad present his proposal to modify the city’s development plan for Sunrise Mall.
During the Citrus Heights Area Seven, Eight, Nine (CHASEN) monthly meeting, Conrad outlined what he described as “modifications” to the Sunrise Tomorrow plan, calling the proposal “Sunrise Tomorrow Evolution.”
“When Macy’s closes the two stores…[the mall will] for all intents and purposes die,” Conrad said in opening, adding that he suspects if nothing changes, that JCPenney will also close and the mall will become dead.
The proposed modifications would allow what Conrad called “logical use” tenants that he says would have originally been allowed before the city’s Specific Plan for the mall was approved. Possible tenants Conrad outlined were Home Depot, In-N-Out Burger, and Chick-fil-A.
Conrad also said the Specific Plan approved by the city in 2021 is not “economically viable.” One component of the current plan that he said needs to change is the proposed 960,000 square feet of office space. Conrad said the post-COVID commercial market has seen a reduction in demand for office space, citing a figure of about 20 cents on the dollar for the purchase of office space throughout the region.
According to Sacramento real estate appraiser and housing analyst Ryan Lundquist, the percentage of workers over 16 reported to be working remotely dropped from 17.9 percent in 2021 to 13.8 percent in 2023. By comparison, prior to the pandemic, only 5.7 percent reported working remotely in 2019.
Several residents raised concerns during the meeting regarding Conrad’s proposed retail uses, such as increased traffic, noise, and proximity to existing housing. One resident called the plans “basic.” Another who represented an existing business inside the mall asked if rent would “skyrocket” with new development. Others expressed a desire to see the property become a destination center without a line of fast-food options but with other dining and entertainment options similar to those offered in places like the Palladio in Folsom.
“We need to relax the zoning a little bit to allow logical retail uses, allowing Home Depot,” said Conrad. “That starts the ball rolling.”
He added that relaxing the current requirements to allow Home Depot could in turn attract other development such as Lucky Strike Entertainment, once known as Bowlero. Conrad floated several other national businesses, including BJ’s Brewhouse, potentially occupying the former Elephant Bar site, and IKEA. On the Sunrise Tomorrow Evolution webpage developed by the property company, Conrad lists more possible tenants, including Peet’s Coffee, Nordstrom Rack, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
During the presentation, Conrad said revitalization of the mall would take place in two main phases. Phase 1 would include construction of Home Depot, In-N-Out, two other fast-food restaurants, Judi’s Cleaners, and Lucky Stripe’s Entertainment. According to the Sunrise Tomorrow Evolution website, Phase 2 would involve placing tenants in the northern section of the mall. Tenants would be dictated by market demand and be subject to city approval, according to the website.
Conrad said he is in the business of making dying malls profitable again, citing other Ethan Conrad Properties locations such as the Yuba Sutter Marketplace, Chico Marketplace, and the Marketplace at Merced as examples of success stories.
“We basically took dying mall properties and leased them up with great tenants,” he said, adding that his property company has done so for “numerous” properties.
Conrad currently owns 25 acres of the southern portion of the mall and confirmed he is in escrow to purchase 50 more acres, including the northern section of the mall where nearly all remaining open stores are located. Conrad also said the JCPenney parcel is part of the deal.
In an email, Conrad confirmed he would not be interested in completing the purchase of the rest of the property if the city does not approve his requested changes.
At the City Council meeting on Wednesday following the CHASEN meeting, Conrad spoke to the council and announced plans to continue to present the proposal to neighborhood associations throughout the city before returning to the Council to make a final presentation. Conrad said he anticipates being able to meet with all the associations before the end of February and plans to return at the Feb. 26 council meeting, if the city approves the agenda item.
In January, Conrad has met with Area 5, known as PONA, and CHASEN, and is scheduled to meet with Area 1 on Monday, Jan. 27, according to an Area 1 agenda posted on the city’s website.
“The goal is to have the property be walkable, have it be successful, and have the right tenants there. That’s what the community is looking for; that’s a win-win; that’s what my goal would be,” Conrad said.
Sentinel staff report– Latest police logs show an increase in animal control calls and disturbances, while showing a decrease in vehicle violations. Below is a summary of police logs from Jan. 16 through Jan. 22, 2025.
Animal control: 11 (up from 8)
911 hangups: 22 (down from 32)
Code enforcement: 29 (up from 25)
Traffic accidents: 27 (down from 33)
Vehicle violations: 296 (down from 389)
Theft: 41 (up from 40)
Homeless-related: 20 (down from 27)
Vandalism: 7 (down from 8)
Violent/threats: 28 (up from 26)
Disturbance: 88 (up from 80)
Suspicious circumstances: 166 (down from 177)
All incidents: 1,119 (down from 1268)
Arrest logs can be viewed on the city’s website here. Full police activity logs can be viewed by date here:
The Citrus Heights Police Department notes that its logs “are not intended as a full and complete list of all police activity,” with some information not displayed for legal reasons, such as arrests of minors. As such, police advise that summary totals based on public logs may differ from weekly incident and arrest totals posted by police on social media.
The department notes on its website that: “All arrested suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty. Additionally, the original crimes, nature of offenses, and charges may be amended or dismissed as further information is made available.”
Editor’s Note: police log summaries are published with assistance from AI, but edited by humans. Please contact us if you spot an error.
