The building that once housed Rohnert Park’s only movie theater will be converted into a giant fitness and pickleball club next year. The area has remained largely empty since Reading Cinemas closed its doors last November.
CenterLine 33 plans to convert the 16-screen movie theater area into a paid pickleball field along with other gyms and wellness equipment. The assignment was approved for an administrative use permit in June.
On Thursday night, the Rohnert Park Planning Commission approved a site plan and architectural review for more courts.
Task partners Richard Coombs, Bill Carson and Jack Weaver say the progression will be the largest pickleball facility in the North Bay.
Coombs is a general spouse at Airport Business Center, a major advertising owner that owns businesses around the Charles M. Shulz-Sonoma County Airport and the Windsor Golf Club. The real estate company is also suing the city of Santa Rosa to save it from selling or leasing the city-owned Garage Five on Third Street in downtown Santa Rosa.
Carson is the Chief Operating Officer of Windsor Golf Course and Golf Manager for Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma.
Weaver is a managing spouse at the law firm Welty, Weaver and Currie and in the past worked on wildfire litigation in Sonoma County.
“It’s wonderfully situated to serve the entire county and we’re excited to build a facility that we hope will be a pickleball delight for others of all ages,” Coombs said in a phone call Friday about the pickleball stadium.
Construction at 555 Rohnert Park Expressway has 4 tenant areas on 12. 08 acres with 758 parking areas. The theater area totals approximately 74,000 square feet with 16 halls and approximately 3,000 seats.
Read the full proposal here
Other companies under construction include the Rebounderz indoor trampoline park, Cheer Obsession Athletics, and Southern Wine
Plans filed with the city of Rohnert Park show that the exterior of the building would remain largely the same.
Inside, the theater area would feature 17 indoor pickleball courts. Other games such as ping pong and cornhole will also have a place inside. The second floor, which housed the theater’s movie projectors, will be a screening room for guests.
While pickleball will be played, the facility will also have a 2,000-square-foot gym and fitness club with saunas, locker rooms, blood baths, a red light treatment area and much more.
Just outside, 138 of the theater’s parking spaces will be remodeled into 16 more pickleball courts surrounded by a 12-foot fence that will require a key fob to enter.
A 25- to 60-foot shaded layout with seating will be located on the east side of the outdoor area to allow members to lounge, watch games or wait for a box to become available.
The plan also took into account court-related noise considerations, noting that the facility’s location is in an advertising district and that a noise study will be part of the process.
An estimate of assignment fees is not available and club fees, Weaver said, are also being determined.
Following Thursday’s planning commission resolution, developers can begin preparations for conversion.
Weaver estimates it will be a few months before demolition of the structure’s interior can officially begin.
“We’re taking what is now an empty family-friendly area and replacing it with anything that’s fitness and wellness-based and still family-friendly,” Weaver told the planning commission. “It’s just a wonderful atmosphere. “
Few considerations were raised through the Planning Commissioners and the site plan and architectural review were approved by all members Matt Epstein, who was absent from the meeting.
Vice President Chuck Striplen expressed fear about the fate of the task “when the fad wears off and other people move from pickleball to anything else. “
“It’s a big upgrade for this network,” he said at the meeting.
Rohnert Park’s only movie theater for 25 years, the movie theater was once owned by Pacific Theaters and was known as Stadium 16 before Reading International purchased it in 2008 and renamed it.
Shortly after the cinema’s closure, Reading International got rid of the concession area’s projectors, appliances, and other equipment, leaving the area largely empty. Weaver said it would have been difficult for another movie theater to move to the same location. .
Economic research conducted through Rohnert Park City found that fitness and wellness businesses are a key component of mall revitalization. Repurposing the area would be an economic progression opportunity for the city, plans manager Mary Grace Pawson said at Thursday’s meeting.
“(We’re) excited to see a task that will bring a new use to this center,” he said after the meeting. “In fact, there have been considerations on the net about the gigantic vacant construction and we think it’s an exciting and healthy project. way to revitalize the center. “
Pickleball courts have been searched through empty large retail establishments and vacant anchor outlets in grocery shopping centers, leading to what the National Association of Realtors calls a “pickleball gold rush” for the pickleball industry. real estate advertisement.
Tom Webb, director of marketing for the Pickleball Players Association, said about 330 pickleball courts arrive each month and are a combination of new pickleball courts being installed or changing from tennis courts.
Sports
Pickleball is a mix of tennis and ping pong and has grown since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The game was invented in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum in Washington state. The three wanted to create a fun activity for their children to play during the summer, according to the USA Pickleball website.
Until recently, the game was very popular among retirees.
Webb said the low barrier to access and overall gambling-related inclusion have contributed to its growing popularity.
Through the Pickleball Players Association, it found that, as of March 2023, more than 48 million U. S. adults had played pickleball over the past year, a 35% increase from the effects of August last year.
The same knowledge shows that in the regional domain of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, 1. 4 million adults played pickleball at least once during the same period.
The average pickleball player is about 34 years old, with the 18- to 24-year-old organization being the fastest growing, Webb said.
“Although the 48. 6 million figure is from the middle of last year, I think it is very conservative to assume that number has continued to increase,” Webb said.
North Bay regulars Carneros Resort and Spa in Napa announced plans last year to add two pickleball courts from a partnership with a French champagne house. Healdsburg Montage also opened two pickleball courts in January 2021.
At the city government level, Santa Rosa Parks has proposed repurposing amounts of tennis courts at Howarth Memorial Park and Galvin Community Park to accommodate pickleball courts.
Rohnert Park also has its own pickleball club that meets at Sunrise Park on Snyder Lane where they host clinics, games and play time open to those interested in the sport.
You can contact the Sara Edwards team at 707-521-5487 or sara. edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.