The Toys R Us store at 7800 Greenback Ln. has been vacant since closing in June 2018. Hobby Lobby has confirmed it will open a new store in the location. // Thomas J. Sullivan
By Thomas J. Sullivan– Interior renovation of the 40,000-square-foot former Toys R Us store at 7800 Greenback Ln. in Citrus Heights has already begun, in preparation for Hobby Lobby opening a new store at the site.
Diane Gudahl, Hobby Lobby special projects manager, confirmed on Wednesday that a lease at the location was recently signed. The company’s press office said an opening date had not yet been set, but projected the store would open “some time in the fall of 2019.”
The store will be the second Hobby Lobby location in the immediate area, with the nearest store currently at 1815 Douglas Blvd. in Roseville. Toys R Us closed its Citrus Heights store last year on June 29, following the company filing for bankruptcy.
Property records show the former Toys R Us building was constructed in 1978 and sits on a five-acre parcel, with a large parking lot in the front. The property is owned by the Cordano family, which owns property and development companies in the Sacramento region.
The Citrus Heights Hobby Lobby store is expected to bring 35-50 new jobs to the area, Gudahl said. Once an opening date is set, the company will make hiring information available at its web site at careers.hobbylobby.com.
According to the company, an estimated 65 new Hobby Lobby store locations are expected to open in 2019 nationwide, and another 16 stores will relocate, creating approximately 2,500 – 3,000 jobs. Hobby Lobby currently has over 840 stores across the nation.
Hobby Lobby, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is primarily an arts-and-crafts store but also includes hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fabrics, floral and wedding supplies, cards and party ware, baskets, wearable art, home accents and holiday merchandise. The privately owned retailer has approximately 32,000 employees and operates in 47 states.
An updated site plan dated Jan. 9, 2019 shows the layout where 260 homes will be built in Citrus Heights. // Image credit: Watt Communities
Sentinel staff report–
Construction on Watt Communities’ massive 260-home development off Arcadia Drive and Fair Oaks Boulevard in Citrus Heights is anticipated to begin later this year, with completion of the first homes expected by 2020.
The 56-acre development, known as Mitchell Farms, will feature about 25 acres of open space parks and was approved by the Planning Commission and City Council last year. Watt Communities’ spokeswoman Diana Murphy told The Sentinel no grading or construction activity has begun yet at the site as of this month, but she said plans are being finalized and grading work is expected to begin in April, followed by construction several months later.
“We expect construction to begin in summer, but it really depends on how quickly the grading goes and all of the other things that go along with trying to [get started],” Murphy told The Sentinel on Friday. “It’s a huge project, so there’s a lot of T’s to cross.”
She said the development is the largest Watt has undertaken in Northern California, with the company typically taking on infill projects in the 17-60 unit range. Watt is currently finishing up a 15-home development in Citrus Heights off Antelope Road, and also completed the 46-home AutumnWood housing development off Antelope Road near Interstate 80 several years ago.
Murphy estimated homes in the new Mitchell Farms development will start being completed in early 2020. “It’ll take us at least a couple years to build them all,” she said.
Homes will be grouped in five general “villages,” with sizes ranging from around 1,400-square-feet to approximately 2,000-square-feet, Murphy said. All homes in the development will feature three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, with the exception of larger-lot homes that will have a loft that can likely be converted into a fourth bedroom.
“We anticipate prices starting in the mid-3’s, going into the high 4’s,” Murphy said, although noting that pricing is subject to change between now and when the homes are completed, depending on the housing market.
Homes in the various villages will range in lot size and layout, with 76 larger-lot homes featuring a 50-by-80-foot yard, while others will be on much smaller lots.
The new housing development was popular among planning commissioners during a public hearing held last year, with many commenting on the need for additional housing to help alleviate the housing crisis affecting the state. Only 79 new housing units were constructed in Citrus Heights between 2013 and 2017, according to a draft environmental report prepared for the project.
A popular aspect of the project has been the large amount of open space incorporated in the development, as a large swath down the middle of the acreage must remain undeveloped due to a 100-year flood plain associated with Arcade Creek. Under an agreement with the Sunrise Recreation and Parks District, the undeveloped acreage will become part of the parks district.
New streets running through the development and connecting with Arcadia Drive and Fair Oaks Boulevard have yet to be named, but Murphy said Watt Communities hopes to do the same as it did with its Mariposa Creek development underway off Antelope Road. The new street installed in that development, Turner Court, was named in honor of the late-Councilman Mel Turner.
“There’s a lot of history on that site so we want to honor that,” said Murphy, referencing the Mitchell Farms site. The 56-acre parcel had been owned by Ted Mitchell, whose family purchased 160 acres in Citrus Heights for $1,600 in gold coins over 100 years ago, according to an interview published by the city’s former History & Arts Commission. Mitchell, now in his nineties, is believed to be the city’s longest-living resident and still owns a significant amount of acreage in the area, including the land where the Citrus Town Center sits.
Sunrise Marketplace in Citrus Heights. // Image credit: Sunrise MarketPlace
Updated Jan. 28, 6:04 a.m.– By Thomas J. Sullivan– The Sunrise Mall parking lot at the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane will be transformed into an outdoor beer festival this summer, with Sunrise MarketPlace’s inaugural “Brews in the Burbs” event.
The festival is slated to take place on Saturday, June 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. and is one of the first significant public events celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sunrise MarketPlace, a business improvement district made up of more than 400 businesses in the commercial corridor near Sunrise Mall. News of the upcoming festival is already posted on the Sunrise MarketPlace Facebook page although a formal public announcement hasn’t yet been made, said MarketPlace spokesperson Julie DePrada.
DePrada said plans call for the parking lot to be turned into a backyard hangout to showcase craft breweries in the Northern California area. The event will feature craft beer tastings, live music, food trucks and backyard games.
Setup and security for the beer festival will be similar to that of past outdoor concerts at Sunrise Marketplace. The “Brews in the Burbs” festival will be held in partnership with Beers in Sac, a beer festival scheduling company in Sacramento.
Brews in the Burbs will be a 21-and-over event, DePrada said. Tickets will go on sale to the public in early February, at a price to be finalized shortly. Proceeds from the event will go to the Citrus Heights Rotary Club.
“I’m excited to see the public response to this festival. We’re hoping it will be an annual event people will want to keep coming back to,” she said.
The Sunrise MarketPlace also holds a popular holiday season “Magical Moments” event series, which began in 2017. Recent events included a Holiday Laser Light Show in the parking lot at Lowe’s, a Nutcracker Ballet performance inside Sunrise Mall and a “Winterfest” event at Sunrise Village.
Thomas Sullivan
Editor’s note: This story was written by Thomas J. Sullivan, who has joined the Citrus Heights Sentinel as a general assignment reporter. Sullivan moved to Citrus Heights in August 2018 from Pacifica, Calif., and is a former reporter turned classroom teacher. Sullivan will be working the small business and commercial real estate beat, as well as writing feature stories.
Since leaving the Bay Area, Sullivan says he’s thoroughly enjoying getting to know the community here. In addition to his reporting duties, Sullivan is also an active substitute teacher in the San Juan Unified School District. He has taught history and social science in the middle and high school levels.
He has written for business and legal weekly newspapers including the Arizona Business Gazette, San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Daily Transcript in his professional writing career. The enlisted Navy veteran of the 1991 Gulf War earned his B.A. degree in journalism in 1978 from the University of Rhode Island.
We welcome Thomas to the staff of the Citrus Heights Sentinel and sincerely thank our subscribers for making this possible.
