CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - On Tuesday, June 30, the City of Citrus Heights will unveil the new vision for Sunrise Mall in a Virtual Community Workshop. It will be followed by a two-week online engagement period, during which Citrus Heights residents are encouraged to share their thoughts on the design concept.

Community members are invited to visit the project website, SunriseTomorrow.net, for more information and to sign up for the virtual workshop that will be hosted on Tuesday, June 30, at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom.

This second community event is part of the Sunrise Tomorrow project, a City-led initiative to re-imagine the approximately 100-acre Sunrise Mall site and create a framework for future redevelopment of the property.

The preferred design concept would transform the mall into a “21^st Century Main Street,” with housing and office space above stores and restaurants lining a new pedestrian-friendly street, replacing the existing enclosed mall and parking lots. The design also envisions a new two-acre park at the center of the site, creating a central gathering space intended to serve as a “town square” for Citrus Heights.

The new vision is the result of an eight-month community engagement process. Over 300 community members participated in the first in-person workshop in February, and over 6,000 people have visited the project’s website to submit hundreds of ideas and feedback.

The project is projected to create more than 3,000 jobs when fully built out, and generate more than $500 million in tax revenue over 20 years, according to initial analysis by the project team.

“Our community has incredibly fond memories of the Sunrise Mall in its heyday – it was the commercial core of Citrus Heights,” said Meghan Huber, Citrus Heights Economic Development and Communications Manager. “Now, our Sunrise Tomorrow project sets a new vision for the mall site, and aims to make the area an economic engine, where our community can live, work, shop, and play.”

Planning and design of the project is being led by Gensler, a global architecture and design firm hired by the City of Citrus Heights.

Nate Cherry, Gensler’s Regional Director for Cities and Urban Design, credits the Citrus Heights community with the project’s success. “What is so exciting about Sunrise Tomorrow is how this project is the community’s vision, implemented by a motivated partnership of City and developers, at a moment in time when the market is creating some amazing opportunities,” Cherry said. “Like the Mall did in its era, this project will position Citrus Heights as offering a uniquely healthy and compelling quality of life in the mid-21st century.”