Why Roseville for the 2021 ADU Idea House?
Beyond the unique features of The Rail House itself, its location in Roseville was specifically selected as the site for the 2021 ADU Idea House due to the cities access, amenity, and quality of life characteristics. It ranks very high with us considering the desires that many individuals are seeking location-wise when choosing a destination for themselves and their families.
It is also a good representation of typical Americana with a city transitioning from an older historic railroad town to a more modern quasi-urban community while seeking to offer a wealth of amenities to its residents.
In our minds, Roseville is an example of one of the United States best small to mid-sized cities. CNN thought so. In fact, in their Best Places to Live Study of 2008, Roseville was first ranked 90th in the List of Top 100. Since then, it continues to get more attractive as a destination, consistently ranking highly in niche publications and reports.
In the past few years, Roseville was ranked:
- No. 1 city in California to raise a family
- 21st safest city in the nation
- 11th healthiest city in the country
- 4th most popular city in the country for millennials to buy homes.
- 24th best place to retire in America
- Among the top 50 healthiest housing markets in the country
- 8th best city in California for young families
- 6th best digital city in the country among cities its size.
- One of the least expensive places to do business in California.
- In the top 1% among 400 cities nationwide as best cities for women entrepreneurs.
- A top 50 city for back-office locations among suburban markets in the US and Canada.
Growing rapidly in just the past 15 years to a population of 126,000, Roseville sits in the greater Sacramento metropolitan region just 20 miles from the State Capitol and Sacramento International Airport. The city is considered a regional hub for healthcare, shopping, and entertainment. It is located well access wise, with Interstate 80 and State Route 65 running through it in addition to good street connectivity.
Many considerations make Roseville one of the most unique suburban places to live in California. A newer destination, the city grew from an older rail town, so the community has a central district with rich history. City Leadership has been working to modernize and redevelop historic downtown to quite a bit of success. And over the years, the city directed nearly $1 billion into infrastructure and renovation efforts targeted at the old town area. That includes a new city hall, fire department, government facilities, walkways, renovation of shops and entertainment, the attraction of a satellite college facility, transit-oriented housing developments, and amenities.
Roseville is also making a concentrated effort to support workforce and infill housing. This push is supported by more public transportation, walking, and biking trails. There is even a newly planned Amtrak Capitol Corridor station with dedicated passenger lines that will allow six to eight direct limited-stop trips from Roseville to San Francisco and the Silicon Valley daily.
Beyond the old town and historic district area, which lies near Union Pacific Railroad and their major western United States railyard, the city has numerous new home communities under construction with additional Master Plan Mixed-use Developments in the works. Existing and more recent home communities (including Del Webb’s Sun City Senior Community) are supported by the Large 1.3 Million Sq. Ft. Westfield Mall, 500,000 Sq. Ft. Fountains at Roseville Outdoor Lifestyle/Shopping/Entertainment Center as well as a host of other retail and entertainment venues.
The city has affordable and consistent power with its own municipal powerplant, and electricity is noted as
It is also home to a wealth of health care facilities, including two hospitals (Sutter and Kaiser), specialty centers, and multiple supportive campuses. Adventist Health also built its new Corporate Headquarters in Roseville, and the city continues to grow with health care expansion plans. There is high-tech employment with Hewlett Packard, and several other mid-to-large-sized organizations of all types have a presence in the city. Roseville is also home to several government facilities, and the FBI recently built their new Sacramento Field office here.
From a regional perspective, while an attractive community, average household income in Roseville is only about 8% higher than the state overall. And housing prices are approximately 1/3 of those in the much more expensive San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara or the San Francisco-Oakland areas just several hours drive away.
While that represents a significant cost difference, the city with its moderate household income could arguably be more comparable to select high profile neighborhoods or towns with similar amenities in the Silicon Valley. A fair comparison would perhaps be famed the Apple Computers Headquarters City of Cupertino with its much higher home prices.
Quality of living is high in Roseville; the city has over 84 parks, dog parks, and recreational facilities. There are a wealth of community amenities accessible to residents, including an Aquatics Complex, Sports Center, Maidu Native American Museum & Historic Site, two City Libraries, and even a City-owned Golf Course.
Roseville is also home to the Placer County Fair with Livestock exhibitions, and the large Fair Grounds site, which is nearby the California National Guard Armory, recently underwent a redevelopment and renovation effort. Now branded as “The Grounds”, the city is launching an ambitious plan to build out the facility and make it a major regional events venue and attraction; the initial phase will see construction of an additional 160,000 square-foot sports and event complex (basketball, volleyball, and field), with the planned future addition of a 30,000 square-foot conference center expansion with meeting space and a 6,000 square-foot culinary building.
Interconnectivity is good, and the city has made a concentrated effort to develop bicycling for fun, fitness, and transportation. Roseville won the 2018 Bicycle Friendly Community Award and currently has nearly 100 miles of on-street bike lanes and over 38 miles of off-street multi-use family friendly bike paths and trails; quite an accomplishment for a smaller jurisdiction. So, you can off-street bike long distances on trails – with the goal of further interconnects in the works to allow access to city amenities for residents.
In terms of The Rail House itself, it is situated in one of the nicer older neighborhoods that were created after moving the old rail lines in the city over 110 years ago at the time of its incorporation. It is one of the best locations in the city for access to amenities and services as well as highway access. Located on a wide four-lane street (main city boulevard to the historic old town) with grown trees, it sits uniquely positioned in the neighborhood.
The long main street running to old town is notable as it ends on one end at Roseville High School and, on the other, at the bottom of an older cement bridge that leads to the original historic old town city district.
References to the city’s old town areas can be confusing; the city technically has two old downtown areas separated by a train track that the bridge traverses.
The original older town historic district currently has a number of bars, coffee shops, and small establishments. It’s going through a transition with two new sizeable multi-family workforce housing developments coupled with new parking, retail, and planned transportation amenities.
The other side of the old town area is home to the cities civic center with city hall. This area is also going through a renovation, including the construction of new pedestrian bridges, town hall, new parking garage, multi-family developments, and the attraction of new restaurants and shops. The city has complimented this civic center area with events like Wine down Wednesday, Food Truck Mania, Comedy Nights, Friday Flicks, Family Fest, Concerts on the Square, and Holiday Parades.
The original downtown is located just over the old bridge from The Rail House, and the other is a short 10-minute walk via sidewalk and street bike lanes. The old “crooked” cement bridge is notable, and at its base lies Roseville’s Prominent Brick Historical Society and Museum building.
The neighborhood the 2021 ADU Idea House is in is one of the safest in Roseville. A combination of vehicles and walking traffic from residents and visitors to schools, entertainment, and services make this neighborhood a busy locale. A recent study showed that approximately 10,800 cars pass the home daily during weekdays in addition to foot traffic by students, parents, and other pedestrians. This traffic, and the street being an emergency route to the city’s police headquarters for returning patrol vehicles, means constant activity and visibility, which indirectly discourages crime.
The location feels like a quasi-urban neighborhood. Homes are older here, but the area is currently undergoing a good deal of renovation as many individuals and new families relocate into it. Housing is also more affordable in comparison to the newer developments a bit further from the city center.
With regard to transportation, the home is well situated for walking, biking, public transit, and vehicle access.
Interstate 80 leading north to Reno/Tahoe or south to San Francisco and the Bay Area or Napa has highway access just a short 1.2 miles drive away via Atlantic Avenue. It is also just .5 miles (10 minutes’ walk over the old, crooked bridge) from the home to current Amtrak train station, which gives accessibility to Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose by rail. The new rail station and parking area with non-stop Capitol Corridor lines, as planned and conceptualized, would be just .2 miles (3 minutes’ walk) away from the home. Current lines already run daily from the local station, just a bit further walk away.
The Rail House is .5 mile (10 minutes’ walk) from the main downtown bus stops near the civic center area, and there is also a bus stop just four minutes’ walk away. A street bike lane runs directly in front of the home with multi-use trails accessible through multiple routes to the top of the scenic Miner’s & False Ravine Trails. All of which are a simple seven to ten-minute bike from the house with leased and electronic bike lockers available in the city.
Roseville’s Woodbridge Park, named after Dr. Bradford Woodbridge and his wife Cora, who came to Roseville in 1908. He was the railroad’s physician and surgeon that served on city council and as mayor for over 25 years; his wife was also a notable as she was elected to the state assembly just after passage of the 19th Amendment (women’s equal voting rights) in 1922. With its large green space, swings, accessible playground, basketball court, horseshoe pit/bocce ball, open turf, multi-use field, picnic area, and tennis courts is easy walk from the home.
Both Ferris Spanger Elementary School, Roseville High School, and Adelante High School (an alternative High School) with approximately 3,000 combined students are all within .4 miles of the home and walkable by children and parents within 7 to 10 minutes. Schools are all rated in the mid to higher or higher ranges for academic performance. Sierra Community College also has a satellite campus across from the civic center, just 10 minutes’ walk away.
For those with pets, there is plenty of walking and play opportunity. The Placer County SPCA also just built their new facility 2.5 blocks away. There is also a 24-Hour Emergency Dog Hospital close by (short 10-minute walk or 2-minute drive) from the residence.
The location is well situated for access to health care. It is just a six-minute drive to Kaiser and Sutter Hospitals; there are a great number of health care and dental/medical facilities in Roseville, and Kaiser has an additional large campus facility that is being newly renovated and expanded close to the home in the other direction.
There are excellent retail shopping and entertainment options. Roseville’s two large shopping and mall complexes (Westfield at the Galleria and The Fountains) and surrounding retail areas are an easy 1.5-mile drive from the home and bikeable within 10 minutes. The larger malls have notable chain stores (Macy’s, Nordstrom, JC Penny) and many niche and higher-end (Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Apple, William Sonoma, etc.) retail establishments. Scattered throughout the city are also the numerous superstores and retail chains that one might expect to find in a developed location, including Costco, Sam’s Club, Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart, BestBuy, Kohl’s, Ross, REI, Target, HobbyLobby, and Buy Buy Baby. Plus, just about every retail establishment and eatery you can imagine.
The Grounds, with its Sports Complex and AllAmerican Raceway, is also just across the old crooked bridge and down the road – a quick 4-minute bike or 15-minute walk away. The close proximity to the Fairgrounds means that the city’s annual 4th of July Fireworks display is also easily seen from the ADU Idea House’s front porch.
For those interested in social activities, the Moose Club, Eagle Club, Sierra View Country Club, and Elks Club are all within a short walk or 2- minute drive.
Considering the desire of many individuals to be in a residential area with access to amenities, government services, health/wellness, entertainment, and has a quasi-urban feel, The Rail House scores high.
In their recent 2018 National Association of Realtors study, homebuyers listed the quality of the neighborhood, convenience to jobs, and overall home affordability as the most important factors when choosing a neighborhood. Digging deeper, they also noted convenience to shopping, schools, entertainment/leisure activities, parks/recreational facilities, airport, public transportation, and health care as key influencers in their choice of a home.
In reflection on all these amenities and accessibility, Roseville hits all the marks. Though, what is unique about the community is that it is not tremendously expensive by California standards. Meaning, the average American can still live here affordably.
In our minds, it is the quintessential location for most of the key items on the modern homebuyers list. Something even further enhanced when considering our Nine Home Themes For Better Living that we specifically incorporated into the 2021 ADU Idea House with our renovation and constructed efforts.
