Retail therapy: Projects speed ahead on Highway 50 corridor

The days when Folsom and Rancho Cordova residents had to leave town for dining, shopping and entertainment are rapidly becoming history.

El Dorado County likewise aims for self-sufficiency while promoting itself as a playground for the region.

And new hotels, which are necessary if a community expects to attract tourists and commercial travelers, are a hot ticket for developers.

The decline in home construction has not dampened the enthusiasm for commercial development along the Highway 50 corridor. In recent interviews, developers, planners and business leaders from Rancho Cordova to Camino discussed a sampling of projects, ranging from those under construction to those still in the talking stage.

Hotels led the list of planned and anticipated projects. A Holiday Inn Express is under construction off Highway 50 at Point View Drive in Placerville. Folsom, with 575 hotel rooms, expects to add up to 400 more with the opening of a Holiday Inn & Suites, Hampton Inn and Stay Bridges Suites in the next couple of years.

Hotels also are being discussed for at least four other sites in El Dorado County: at the east and west ends of Placerville, north of Highway 50 at Missouri Flat Road and in the El Dorado Hills Town Center. Business leaders also see the potential for lodging in Camino and Cameron Park.

Laurel Brent-Bumb, executive director of the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce said she is confident that tourism in the county would support more than double the approximately 700 rooms available on the western slope.

"You know the cliché: If you build it, they will come," she said.

The lack of lodging has made it difficult to promote the county's recreational, historical and agricultural attractions, including Apple Hill and more than 50 wineries, the way other regions do, she said.

Along with the hotels, the county needs meeting rooms with a capacity for 200 to 300 people, Brent-Bumb said.

"If we got a convention center, oh, my, I'd be doing the happy dance," she said.

New retail businesses are spearheading transformations of Folsom and Rancho Cordova.

"Folsom has gotten just about to the point (that) you almost don't have to leave town for services," said Joe Luchi, the city's economic development director.

Curt Haven, Luchi's counterpart in Rancho Cordova, envisions his community becoming "a city, not a suburb." To that end, Haven said, anticipated retail outlets will help Rancho Cordova evolve into a place where residents can spend their time and money and feel a part of the community.

In Folsom, new businesses expected to open near Highway 50 in the next year or two, along with the three hotels, include Circuit City electronics, Ethan Allen home furnishings and an In-N-Out Burger.

By far the largest new development in the city is Palladio, a 50-acre regional mall anchored by a 16-screen theater, Barnes & Noble bookstore and Whole Foods grocery emporium. The project is under construction south of Broadstone Power Center.

The 16-screen Cinema West theater will increase the total number of movie screens in El Dorado Hills and Folsom to 44.

Luchi describes the open-air Palladio as "upscale retail," comparable to the Pavilions shopping center in Sacramento, only about 10 times larger. He said the owner, Elliott Homes, is close to announcing other retail tenants.

Though still in the speculative category, a plan to annex and develop 3,500 acres south of Highway 50 includes an option to build a regional mall. About 100 acres along Scott Road has been set aside for such a possibility.

Luchi is careful to say that nothing is confirmed, but the city has had discussions about a mall on the scale of the Roseville Galleria.

Catharine Dickey, a spokeswoman for Westfield Corp., owner of the Galleria, said that although "Westfield is a big believer in Sacramento and has looked at potential sites throughout the region," her company doesn't discuss rumor and speculation about specific sites.

In Rancho Cordova, Haven said Capital Village, off Zinfandel Drive south of Highway 50, is an example of the city's "new urbanism."

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