BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Two of Natomas’ own will spearhead a group tasked with developing a plan to reuse the Power Balance Pavilion site should a new arena be built downtown.
District One councilwoman Angelique Ashby and Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan, D-Natomas, today were named co-chairs of a new Natomas subcommittee which will work concurrently with the “Think BIG” campaign. The pair are joined by a dozen others who represent varied political and economic interests.
The goal of the group will be to identify a strong economic engine for the Natomas area. Ashby said the group would likely focus on the top three options identified by the ICON/Taylor Group report as highest and best-uses – a high-tech campus, hospital campus or college campus.
Pan favors the hospital concept, said Ashby, who pointed out there are no hospitals in Natomas or north of the river. The 185-acres on which the arena now sits, she said, is a “big piece of land halfway between downtown and an international airport” which could help drive the regional economy if developed effectively.“We’ve encouraged that this subcommittee be formed from the start,” Natomas Chamber of Commerce President Ed Koop said in a statement. “We want to ensure that we’ve got a long term, sustainable economic solution that is as good as, or better than what the arena brought in.”
Subcommittee members also include:
- Darrell Steinberg – California Senator,6th Senate District , President pro Tem
- Ed Koop – Natomas Chamber President
- Greg Guardino – Executive Vice President, Alleghany Properties
- Greg Thatch – Development Attorney, Thatch Law
- James Beckwith – CEO, 5 Star Bank
- Jesus Arredondo – Westlake President, Community Leader
- John Dukes – Yuba City Mayor
- Kip Blewett – Principal/Co‐Founder, Rubicon Partners
- Martha Lofgren – Interim CEO, Sacramento Metro Chamber
- Michael Ault – Executive Director, Downtown Sacramento Partnership
- Ted Gaines – California Senator, 1st Senate District
- Tim Youmans – Principal, Economic & Planning Systems
The Natomas “Think Big” Subcommittee plans to host a town hall meeting August 11 in Natomas, location to be announced.
[…] campus have been popular with area residents as possible reuses of the arena property in Natomas. In 2011 the Natomas Think Big Subcommittee focused on a high-tech campus, hospital campus and colleg… And during her 2013 “State of Natomas” address, Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby said the […]