Poll: Are You Excited About SMART's Decision to Build "Downtown?"

The deal is sealed: The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station will be built in Rohnert Park's City Center, on the same side of the tracks as the former 33-acre site of State Farm that shut its doors last year, leaving Rohnert Park without one if its biggest and most historic employers.

The move cost the city's General Fund $27,000, and SMART is forking out an additional $500,000 for construction costs on the new site. 

City Manager Gabe Gonzalez, the City Council and SMART boardmembers have all stated publicly that they're excited about the possibilities the train could bring — transit-oriented development, increased property values, new businesses and finally, the possibility of a "downtown" here.

Despite the elimination of what could fund a development there — redevelopment dollars — Gonzalez is optimistic about bringing life to the area, which in recent years has seen mild growth, first with the development of the library and the Department of Public Safety, and most recently with the popular Friday Night Farmers Market.

"The new location is near our City Center area, which is recognized as the heart of Rohnert Park," Gonzalez said in a memo to SMART. "The city plans to encourage development in this location, and may be well-positioned to receive regionally controlled grant funds in the future to aid that effort."

SMART boardmembers cheered the move Wednesday, when they made the final decision.

"I think it’s a very smart move," said Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who also sits on the SMART board. "This is the best thing for the city of Rohnert Park."

Zane pointed to the proximity of the future SMART station to area mobile home parks, Sonoma State and City Center Plaza, as positives for the new location.

"There is a sense that this is a superior location for the future of the city of Rohnert Park," said Mayor Jake Mackenzie. "State farm still sits there, but we hear there are negotiations and designs going on."

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