What’s in the proposed blueprint for new housing, hotel on Sonoma Developmental Center property?

PHIL BARBER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

On Feb. 16, Eldridge Renewal — a corporation formed by developers Rogal Projects and the Grupe Company — presented Sonoma County with a permit application for redeveloping the 180-acre core campus of the Sonoma Developmental Center in Glen Ellen.

The developers seek to transform the campus into “a vibrant mixed-use and pedestrian-oriented community that provides a diverse and sustainable array of housing choices,” as they wrote to Permit Sonoma, the county’s planning and permitting agency.

The application packet includes architectural renderings, campus maps and inventory lists that hadn’t been seen by the public before.

Here are some the highlights:

• The 930 housing units proposed for the site include 342 detached homes, 56 duplexes, 84 triplexes, 189 townhomes, 174 apartments, 74 mixed-use apartments, 6 cohousing units and 5 independent living residences for people with developmental disabilities. The average dwelling unit is just under 1,800 square feet.

A site map of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)
A site map of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)

• The developers propose 124 affordable housing units; half of those are 2-bedroom apartments.

• The historic, landscaped traffic oval at the entrance to SDC would be flanked by long faces of three-story, mixed-use buildings brought close to the oval.

Sonoma Developmental Center main entrance along Arnold Drive looking west from the state owned former mental institution at Eldridge in the Sonoma Valley near Glen Ellen, May 10, 2023. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)
Sonoma Developmental Center main entrance along Arnold Drive looking west from the state owned former mental institution at Eldridge in the Sonoma Valley near Glen Ellen, May 10, 2023. (Chad Surmick / The Press Democrat)

• The site plan includes a number of open spaces, including the central green, a ball field, playground, event lawn, dog parks, pickleball park, creek walk and three “agrihood” gardens, among other areas. This does not include the 650 acres being deeded to California State Parks for expansion of adjacent Jack London State Historic Park.

An aerial site plan of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)
An aerial site plan of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)

• At least 16 older buildings would be preserved in the core campus, including the main administration building, the former director’s house (Sonoma House) and the existing firehouse, plus a number of maintenance and construction shops that are to be transformed into the “Small Business + Innovation Center.”

• A number of stands of mature trees would also be preserved, including redwoods, ash, magnolias, sycamores and oak woodlands.

• The northwest corner of the core campus plans for a 150-key boutique hotel, divided among three buildings, and a co-located conference center.

• The project would add a number of paved streets to the campus. Citing traffic modeling, the developers say the project would generate an average of 5,736 daily trips; close to 25% of those would be captured within the campus footprint, and would likely involve walking or biking.

A site map of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)
A site map of the proposed future transformation of the Sonoma Developmental Center property. (Courtesy of Eldridge Renewal)

• There is a fire buffer around the core campus, intended to reduce fuel loads. The applicants intend to build a new firehouse for the Sonoma Valley Fire District, which is expected to oversee firefighting operations in the area once the property transfers to private ownership.

• The historic Eldridge cemetery will not be impacted by this plan.

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