New use for Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena site revealed: ‘A hub of innovation’
The Sacramento Kings and a local medical group announced Wednesday they have reached a deal to build a hospital and medical complex on the former Sleep Train Arena site in North Natomas.
Kings officials said they will turn over 35 acres of land, including the arena, to the locally based California Northstate University group to construct a major teaching hospital, trauma center and medical school that could bring up to 3,000 jobs as well as housing to the now unused site.
The level 2 trauma center would be 10 to 11 stories tall, and would start with 250 rooms, ultimately expanding to 400, officials said. It would include a helipad. The initial phase of the project could be built in about three and one-half years, university officials said.
The project could start as early as the end of this year with the demolition of Sleep Train Arena, Kings officials said. The California Northstate site will be on the southwest portion of the Kings’ 184 acres, just off of East Commerce Way and near Interstate 5.
The proposed project, if realized, would represent a coup for both the city of Sacramento and the Kings, who have worked for seven years to land a major tenant to launch redevelopment of the site in the center of Natomas that the Kings vacated when they and the city built the Golden 1 Center Arena downtown.
Natomas Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said she is thrilled by the proposal, calling it a “placemaking moment,” that landing a medical center was one of the highest items on Natomas residents’ wish list for the site, and is in her opinion the best use for the site.
“This is an amazing opportunity for the city and an important component to the overall health and well-being of our entire region,” Ashby said.
Kings officials, who filed general development plans with the city two years ago to prepare the land, said they have been in talks for months with Northstate to fulfill a promise to the city and the Natomas community.
“We have been working diligently with the Natomas community to find the right partner to redevelop the arena site and believe California Northstate University is the perfect fit,” said Sacramento Kings Chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “With a medical school campus and teaching hospital, this project will serve as a hub of innovation and an economic driver for the entire region.”
Hospital was planned for Elk Grove
It also appears to end a difficult odyssey for the California Northstate group, which worked for three years on plans to build the medical center complex near Interstate 5 in Elk Grove, but was rejected by Elk Grove officials in February amid opposition from nearby residents and environmental groups.
Northstate has operated a small, private, for-profit medical school in Elk Grove near Elk Grove Boulevard and Interstate 5 since 2015.
University President and CEO Dr. Alvin Cheung called the proposal a “hub for teaching and healing” and a significant step for his company. “The University looks forward to working with the Kings organization and advancing our mission of science and the art of healthcare,” he said.
The project would be the second community-redefining change in North Natomas in recent years, following the construction of a recently opened, 68-acre Centene Corporation health care office campus a block away, which will provide several thousand jobs.
Kings officials said they approached California Northstate recently when it appeared the university’s efforts to build a medical center in Elk Grove had hit a wall.
The Kings asked Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Ashby to meet with the hospital group as well. Steinberg said he and Ashby told California Northstate the city of Sacramento will help make the hospital happen, but said he did not offer any specific incentives to Northstate.
“We talked about what we are doing to increase the economic diversity of the city, and said we would work with them,” Steinberg said. The city has recently negotiated incentive packages with Centene, as well as with UC Davis for its upcoming Aggie Square project, and also had an infrastructure financing deal in place to build a Major League Soccer stadium downtown.
“We are totally open to talking with them,” Steinberg said. “The same way we will happily talk to any major employer who wants to make Sacramento their home.”
The city of Sacramento now has several medical center projects in the works. Kaiser Permanente plans to build a similar-sized hospital and medical complex in the downtown Railyard district. UC Davis Health also has two medical projects in the works, as well as the Aggie Square development.
The cities of Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova both praised California Northstate’s commitment after the announcement. Rancho Cordova officials had also been in talks with Northstate about possibly locating a hospital in that city.
“We congratulate California Northstate University for finding a location that best suits their needs as they work toward building a teaching hospital,” said Rancho Cordova city spokeswoman Maria Kniestedt. “We wish them every success.”
Even though the hospital project collapsed in Elk Grove, city officials said they still maintain a strong relationship with the school, which recently submitted an application to expand its Elk Grove campus to form a new dentistry school.
“Elk Grove city leaders did everything we could to assist CNU at their chosen project location and present alternative locations and options for their consideration,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said in a prepared statement. “Ultimately, none of the options presented met their needs.
“We still believe that this is an important project for the Sacramento region and we wish California Northstate University and the City of Sacramento every success in establishing the project in Natomas.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2021 at 1:49 PM.