The 30 acres at Rohnert Park Expressway and State Farm Drive have sat unused since 2010. What would a downtown there actually look like? CenterCal Properties, the El Segundo developer the city chose in August 2024, filed its plans on Sept. 30, 2026. That filing started a formal review.
Put the submittal next to the deal the City Council approved last November and a pattern shows up. The retail grew. The housing grew. The hotel grew. The plaza is the one piece residents were promised they could use for their own events, and it's also the only piece without one agreed size. The city puts it at about the same acre as last year, while The Press Democrat reports a larger figure.
Three numbers grew, and the fourth depends on who you ask
In November 2025, the council voted 5-0 on preliminary terms with CenterCal. The City of Rohnert Park's release on that vote set floors, not final figures. Here's how the October 2026 submittal compares, using the city's Oct. 14 release and The Press Democrat's Oct. 16 report:
| Element | November 2025 preliminary terms | September 2026 submittal |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | Over 140,000 sq. ft. | 163,931 sq. ft., including a grocery store, restaurants and shops |
| Housing | 300 or more units | 401 units: 250 apartments, 51 for-sale detached homes, 100 affordable units |
| Hotel | At least 100 rooms | 128 rooms with about 3,500 sq. ft. of meeting space |
| Plaza | One acre | "Approximately one acre" per the city; 1.38 acres per The Press Democrat |
| Next approval step | Developer agreement expected in the second half of 2026 | Public hearings over the next nine to 18 months |
The bottom row matters to anyone counting the years. Last year the city expected the final plan and developer agreement to be approved sometime in the second half of 2026. Now the hearings themselves are expected to stretch nine to 18 months past October 2026. That works out to somewhere between summer 2027 and spring 2028. CenterCal's team has said that if everything goes to plan, the project could be finished by summer 2030.
Where each piece would sit on the 30 acres
The layout explains why the plaza gets so much attention. In the plan, it's the only open public space surrounded by everything else. According to The Press Democrat's account of the Oct. 13 council presentation, the pieces fall like this:
- North half, along Rohnert Park Expressway: the commercial core. Shops and restaurants surround the public plaza, with a water feature and green space for gathering. Standalone commercial buildings fill out the rest of the north half.
- Above the plaza: the 100 affordable units, built over first-floor retail that faces the square.
- East side: the hotel, along the SMART line.
- South portion: about 250 market-rate apartments. About 50 single-family homes go at the corner of State Farm and Enterprise drives.
- Southeast corner: a 1.5-acre piece stays with the city to expand the public works yard next door.
CenterCal's Scott Bohrer said the team is deliberately keeping most of the parking outside the central area so the plaza blocks stay walkable. The project page also describes the site as next to the Rohnert Park SMART station. There's a quieter infrastructure item too. Under last year's terms, CenterCal agreed to move a 50-year-old waterline that runs across the property over to Enterprise Drive. The city, for its part, committed to improving traffic off the site.
The acre that keeps getting measured
Since the plaza is the one place where every piece of the site meets, its size became the main point of debate at the Oct. 13 meeting. During public comment, according to The Press Democrat, one speaker argued the square was smaller than first intended. Others asked for a design that reflects the city's own history. Bohrer disagreed that the green space had shrunk. He noted that the developer is required to build a plaza of at least one acre.
Both of the published figures stay inside that rule. The city's release calls the plaza "approximately one acre," and the newspaper's caption for the site plan gives 1.38 acres. Hearings before the Parks & Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission are where a final number will be locked in.
What the space is for got its own discussion. One speaker questioned whether a grocery store makes sense with several already nearby and suggested a food hall that might keep people downtown longer. Bohrer said the plan closely follows the concept approved last year and draws on surveys, open houses and meetings with local businesses and labor groups. He said that feedback pointed clearly toward a central gathering space, a mix of fast-casual and special-occasion restaurants, rental housing and chances to own a home downtown.
Councilmember Gerard Giudice, who sat on the Planning Commission in 2014 when the city first got a regional grant to study the area, summed up how long the wait has been:
"To say that this has been a dream that has spanned decades would be an understatement."
What a CenterCal plaza does on a December weekend
The plans show a water feature and lawn, but they don't show how the space will be used week to week. CenterCal's existing centers give some idea. The CenterCal portfolio includes Bridgeport Village in Tigard, Oregon, The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard, Bay Street Emeryville and The Village at Totem Lake, among others.
Their calendars lean toward seasonal events. The Bridgeport Village events page lists a Halloween scavenger hunt and a holiday program, running Nov. 23 to Dec. 24, that brings in local school choirs to perform. The Collection at RiverPark's events page lists a 2026 Tree Lighting Celebration, Santa Paws photo nights and a Candy Crawl. This fall the center also put up its third annual DÃa de los Muertos community altar. Its tenants include Whole Foods, Lazy Dog and The Cheesecake Factory.
Those are other cities' centers, and Rohnert Park's tenant list doesn't exist yet. Here, the November 2025 terms also say the city keeps the right to host community events on the plaza. That means city events can run alongside whatever CenterCal plans, and the downtown project page promises "year round event programming." City Manager Marcela Piedra described the goal in the October release as "a walkable, bikeable, and community-centric Downtown."
The road from here to 2030
Here's the order of events the city and developer have described:
- Sept. 30, 2026: CenterCal submits its application. It asks for design review within the city's central core and a major subdivision map.
- Now: City planners and their consultant, Good City Company, check the plan against state environmental law and city and state design and building standards.
- Next nine to 18 months: Public hearings at the Parks & Recreation Commission, Planning Commission and City Council. The city's release gives this window and no specific dates.
- Summer 2030: The completion date CenterCal's team is aiming for.
You don't have to wait for a hearing date to weigh in. The Downtown Rohnert Park input page has a form with separate questions about the businesses, housing and community events you'd like to see, plus a box for feedback on the overall design. General questions go to [email protected]. The same page is also taking early interest from businesses hoping to lease space. The city says it will post updates at rpcity.org/Downtown.
The hearings over the next year or so will decide what goes on the plaza. Bohrer said it can't be smaller than one acre. Beyond that minimum, its size, its look and what happens there are still open questions.
If you live near State Farm Drive and you're wondering what a downtown a few blocks away might mean for your street and your home over the next few years, I'm happy to sit down and talk it through. Apryl Lopez can also put together a free home valuation, so you have a clear starting point while the plaza plans come together.
