City of Sacramento rendering
Map of the Innovation Park planned unit development
By acquiring a property from the NBA's Sacramento Kings, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company earlier this summer got one step closer to breaking ground on its 183-acre Innovation Park master-planned community in Sacramento's Natomas district, first approved in 2022.
Argent Development, a leading developer of innovative master-planned communities across North America, bought the 129-acre site for $75 million, according to Sacramento County public records. The property is one of three that will make up the new Innovation Park.
It was home to the Sleep Train Arena (formerly known as the ARCO Arena) from 1988 until 2016, when the Kings moved to the Golden 1 Center in the city's downtown. The old arena was demolished in 2022.
The Innovation Park project proposes transforming the former arena location into a vibrant mix of residential, commercial, health and educational uses.
Argent's plans for the development include a medical complex with a modern teaching hospital, a public school for children in grades K-8, retail and commercial space, nearly 25 acres of parkland and other infrastructure and public facilities designed to provide community-wide benefits.
A major component is the California Northstate University (CNU) Medical Center Campus.
The complex will include a teaching hospital, college, child care center, a 100-unit senior residential care facility and supporting office, commercial and retail uses. At the heart of CNU's planned campus is a 14-story, 750,000-sq.-ft. hospital to be constructed in the project's first phase. It will include 420 inpatient beds and Level II Trauma operations.
An outpatient clinic, along with housing for students, faculty and staff housing unit, in addition to laboratory facilities and public spaces, are also on the drawing board for the future medical center.
Neighborhood to Come With New School
A press release from Argent noted that its proposal also calls for 2,500 new housing units, including single-family detached residences, townhomes, condominiums and apartments. Ten percent will be designated as affordable housing. The exact unit mix hasn't been announced.
Innovation Park will play a significant role in expanding access to quality housing for the region's low and moderate-income residents. According to the nonprofit California Housing Partnership, Sacramento County has a shortfall of approximately 56,000 affordable units.
Innovation Park's proposed 12-acre public school will be run by the Natomas Unified School District. Unlike many public school districts in California, Natomas has a growing student enrollment. Capital Public Radio in Sacramento recently reported that the number of school-age children in the district has more than doubled over the last 20 years.
"We are proud to spearhead the transformation of Innovation Park into a vibrant community that will serve the people of Sacramento and stand the test of time," Argent CEO Stephan Elieff said.
Innovation Park Likely to Revitalize North Natomas
The effort to create Innovation Park was years in the making, the Sacramento Bee reported. At the end of April, the city council voted to finance the redevelopment of the former Arco Arena site in North Natomas.
Municipal officials then established an enhanced infrastructure financing district for the development in early May, according to Sacramento's KCRA-TV, which would allow the project to receive financing via increased property taxes on the development site.
The Kings left an economic void in North Natomas. But a city staff report noted that the new project could generate 3,000 permanent jobs and more than 7,600 jobs during construction. Additionally, its construction could raise as much as $2 billion for the city and $2.85 billion for Sacramento County.
Argent said that infrastructure development at Innovation Park is expected to begin in 2025, and residential lots will be available starting in the second quarter of 2026. The developer is in discussions with potential builders.
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