Former restaurant tenant sued in El Dorado Hills

Welcome to another Friday, LinkedIn community. Let's start today's newsletter with a legal dispute in a prominent El Dorado Hills retail center.

The owner of the El Dorado Hills Town Center has accused former tenant Aji Japanese Bistro of breaching its contract.

Aji Japanese Bistro, which operated at 4361 Town Center Blvd. for more than a decade, closed at the end of May,?citing rising costs as a factor in the decision.?

Town Center East LP, an entity affiliated with the center's ownership, filed a lawsuit in El Dorado County Superior Court last month against Aji Japanese Bistro and owner?Russell Okubo?as guarantor of its lease agreement for the space.?

Learn more in this article by reporter Jacob Abbott .

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Planned surf resort aims to open in 2027

What would be Northern California's first developed surf park is aiming to open in less than three years, according to the project's founder and CEO.

Chris Gallardo of Alchemy Surf Resort in the Placer One project said he's planning to submit a formal application to Placer County for the 25-acre project in coming months.

If everything goes to plan, Gallardo said, the goal is to open by Memorial Day 2027, a bit less than three years away. Read more

Former Macy's at Country Club Plaza gets new development plan

New plans filed with Sacramento County call for redeveloping much of the northern portion of Country Club Plaza, including the former Macy's building.

Seattle-based Tourbineau Real Estate Partners would turn the former department store into self storage, then take advantage of the reduced need for parking by putting a five-story hotel and new indoor/outdoor retail space to the north.

"We think we have the ability to release all the land here and come up with something powerful," said Benjamin Wong , partner and head of investments at Tourbineau.

Learn more in this article by Senior Reporter Ben van der Meer .

Roseville medical staffing company to lay off 110 workers

A Placer County medical staffing company is laying off a big chunk of its workforce as revenue declines after the pandemic.

FlexCare Medical Staffing notified state regulators late last month that it would be laying off 110 employees in November, most of whom work out of the company headquarters at 532 Gibson Drive, Suite 100, in Roseville.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but in its notice, it attributed the layoff to a decline in business.

Learn more in this article by reporter Emily Hamann .

Latest on two notable hotel projects

Senior Reporter Ben van der Meer has updates on two closely watched hotel projects in the Sacramento area.

First: After months of speculation about the project's status, a Marriott Aloft hotel in the El Dorado Hills Town Center has a finish line in sight.

Both developer Sam Patel of Core Hotels LLC and building permit applicant Rajan Patel said construction progress on the 115-room hotel should allow it to open in spring 2025. Read more

Also: Though hiccups from a California state budget in deficit delayed the process, the goal of getting a new hotel in Old Sacramento is still moving forward, according to California State Parks.

John Fraser , a district superintendent for state parks, said a request for proposals for a hotel of up to five stories and 170 rooms should be released within the next year. Read more

Sacramento Zoo director stepping down

The leader of the Sacramento Zoo is stepping down, months after the zoo reached a major milestone in the plan to move to Elk Grove.

The zoo recently announced that Executive Director and CEO Jason Jacobs will be leaving his position in the coming months, to move closer to family in Florida.

Learn more in this article by reporter Emily Hamann .

Thanks for reading our Weekly Edition, which was compiled by Managing Editor Sonya Sorich. Send feedback and news tips to [email protected].