Rocklin Planning OKs development of former K-mart site

The roughly 15-acre site where the former K-Mart building was located on Pacific Street in Rocklin will be the future home to a 180-unit affordable apartment development, 40 single-family residential lots and renewed retail space. The Quarry Place Apartments, Cobblestone subdivision and Quarry Place retail space were unanimously approved by the Rocklin Planning Commission Tuesday night. Applicant Ardie Zahedani with St. Anton Communities, which specializes in apartment and mixed-use development of market-rate, affordable and mixed-income housing, expressed gratitude before the commission prior to the vote. "We've been at this for quite some time and we're very pleased with the labor, time and real diligence your staff has put in over the past four years," Zahedani said. "This is a monumental moment for us to be before you for approval." Tuesday's approval marks the culmination of a project that began soon after the former K-Mart building shuttered its doors roughly five years ago, according to Zahedani. Zahedani said St. Anton Communities aggressively pursued the land owner after learning of the desire to develop the site. When the developer finally purchased the land, Zahedani noted the desire to not just build a "stand-alone project on an island." St. Anton Communities then spent over a year acquiring all the adjacent parcels from the parent company, Sears, which Zahedani remarked "was no easy task." Perhaps the largest change to the site will be the demolition of the former K-Mart building, which Zahedani said will happen "as soon as possible." He also noted frequent complaints from neighbors regarding the building, which had become a gathering area for homelessness and vandalism. Rocklin Planning Commissioner Brian Whitmore spoke of the concept of sustainability and the utilization of space in the city's core areas. "We talk a lot about sustainability and I think one of the primary things we can do from a sustainable standpoint is to repurpose something that is not clearly working," Whitmore said. "In terms of what is not working now is the retail center (K-Mart)." The largest edition will be the Quarry Place Apartments, which is proposed as a 180-unit apartment development with nine three-story residential buildings; an office/community building; a pool house and swimming pool; as well as common area amenities, according to the staff report. The common area amenities will include a child's play area called a "tot lot," a dog park and picnic areas with shade trellises. The proposed 9,700-square-foot Quarry Place retail project is comprised of two buildings, according to the staff report. The larger building is proposed as 6,200 square feet and the other is 3,500 square feet, according to the staff report. The tentative subdivision map for the 5.45-acre Cobblestone community will be divided into 40 single-family residential lots and nine landscape lots, according to the staff report. All nine lots are proposed to be HOA-owned and maintained. Lot sizes will be from 3,501 square feet to a maximum of 5,403 square feet. The Quarry Place Apartments received particular attention for Planning Commission chair Michele Vass, who recalled a story from one of the community outreach meetings held by the developer. The story related to a young couple with good-paying jobs unable to afford housing in the area. Eventually, Vass said the couple benefitted from another St. Anton Communities affordable project, Crocker Oaks in Roseville. "I can't wait for other members of our community who have jobs, who are going to school or are a young married couple," Vass said. "Whoever they are, they'll have an opportunity to afford to live in the community that they grew up in or that they had a house in and now they want to move into a smaller living situation. I appreciate what this community will provide." Zahedani said St. Anton Communities noted the ability to create affordable housing projects indistinguishable from market rate project. He estimates the one to three-bedroom apartments will cost $600 to $1,000. In comparison, he said these same units at market rate would be $5,000 in the Bay Area, $3,000 in mid-Sacramento and possibly $2,500 in parts of Rocklin. Zahedani also noted the ability for renters at Quarry Place apartment to "move up" to the single-family residences when the opportunity arises. He noted a cycle in which individuals have the ability to save for future down payment and have the ability to purchase a home in the same community. Planning Commissioner Michael Barron also noted the project site in relation to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation mandate from the state. Barron said the project "was always in the back of their heads" because the site is in close proximity to transit, retail, commercial and freeway access. The parcels on which Walmart Neighborhood Market, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Sherwin Williams Paint store are not a part of the project site, the staff report noted. No current timetable was given to when demolition of the K-Mart building or other construction will start.