FOLSOM, Calif. — A shopping center in the Folsom Ranch area was approved last month, and it’s going to house a major grocery store tenant.
Alder Creek Marketplace was greenlit March 20 by the Folsom Planning Commission, and it is located at the southwest corner of the intersection at East Bidwell Street and Alder Creek Parkway, according to Josh Rupert, director of development for Hunter Properties Inc., the Bay Area-based real estate company in charge of the project.
The gross area of the parcel size is 15 acres, but the buildable area is 12.1 acres, Rupert said. He hopes construction can begin in 2025.
A 55,000 square-foot grocery store is the main tenant, and a company has signed a letter of intent to inhabit the commercial center, he said. Hunter Properties will not announce who the tenant is until a lease is signed, which the company hopes to accomplish by 2024’s end.
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The center has the capacity to house a gas station, three food vendors with operational drive-thrus, and four shop buildings without drive-thrus that can house food vendors but also other retail tenants like salons and financial services, Rupert said.
“We do have several letters of intent that we have received from various businesses,” Rupert told ABC10. “We want to sign with the grocery tenant first just because grocery is our anchor.”
Rupert said they have six letters of intent from businesses separate from the grocery tenant.
Alder Creek Marketplace will have five access points, he said. Some members of the city’s planning commission expressed concerns during the approval process about the center’s flow of traffic, according to Rupert.
“Right now, I think everyone is comfortable with access and vehicular circulation,” he said. “We will endeavor to smooth out inefficiencies once we have the center in operation.”
The center has 389 uncovered parking spaces, fast-charging electric vehicle stations and several outdoor gathering places.
Rupert said after Hunter Properties was involved in many Bay Area mixed-use projects, it has become apparent outdoor dining accentuates the pedestrian experience in a post-COVID environment.
“This is the suburbs,” he said. “It’s an experience everyone will appreciate.”
Hunter Properties’ experience in Folsom has been top-notch, Rupert said. The company is also the developer of The Shops at Folsom Ranch, a five-acre site across the street from Alder Creek Marketplace. Rupert has noticed similarities between the city and Bay Area, including similar construction costs, which he found surprising, he said.
“(The project is) something we believe the residents of Folsom should be proud of,” Rupert told ABC10. “Our experience with Folsom has been excellent.”
