Wave surf park planned for Highway 65 corridor

After looking at parcels in Loomis and El Dorado Hills, developers have now chosen a Placer County Highway 65 corridor location for an artificial wave-surfing resort. Town of Loomis officials said El Dorado County-based Inland Surf Company approached the town last summer with plans to build Northern California's first wave-surfing resort, Alchemy Surf Park, at Horseshoe Bar Road and Interstate 80. The company also took the plan before the El Dorado County Advisory Committee in February 2022. "The concept they proposed was for a surf park with outdoor recreation, hotels, restaurants, wellness and fitness centers," said Loomis Planning director Christy Consoloni last week. "The applicant has decided to go with a different location along Highway 65, instead of Loomis. He has found another spot." Inland Surf Co. founder and CEO Chris Gallardo of El Dorado County confirmed that statement this week. "Currently, we're pursuing a project site in unincorporated Placer County near Roseville and Rocklin," Gallardo told Gold Country Media Tuesday. Consolini said a key point in the move is that the county site is already "entitled" and ready for building, while the Loomis site is not. The approximately 60-acre Loomis site, consisting of "tourist destination" zone parcels, has a variety of constraints with a sewer line across it and associated environmental concerns, Consolini said. The parcels studied were southwest and southeast of Horseshoe Bar Road and I-80. "They reached out to neighbors in the vicinity of the property to get a feel for their input and then chose to look at some other sites. There was no formal review or decision by the Planning Commission," Consolini said Monday. Meanwhile, the surf park would create more than 200 construction jobs and another 100 new jobs when full operation begins, according to the website. With four surf parks coming to Southern California and several more planned across the country, company officials hope to create the first in Northern California in Placer County. "It's going to be a two- to three-year project but will be well worth the wait," Gallardo said Tuesday. "I'm really excited to help bring the sport of surfing to our area and the positive impact it will have on the region."