The developers \u2014 Bardis & Miry Development \u2014 said in a news release Tuesday that their \u201cinitial vision\u201d for the property sees it transformed into a walkable, mixed-use community with 1,000 to 2,000 homes, ground-floor retail and other amenities.<\/p>\n
Still, they are evaluating the site, and \u201call redevelopment options remain on the table,\u201d Bay Miry, one of the firm\u2019s principals, said in a statement. The overall cost of the sale was not disclosed.<\/p>\n
The property has represented a major question mark for civic leaders, and a 53-acre opportunity. It is located on the edge of midtown, one of Sacramento\u2019s central neighborhoods, and on the edge of the River District, a historically industrial area that has seen new housing and interest from developers<\/a> in recent years. Meanwhile, long-awaited projects are underway in the nearby Railyards, from Kaiser\u2019s hospital to the Sacramento Republic FC stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just unlocked this massive chunk of land that is sort of, up for discussion in a way that it hasn\u2019t been for 100 years,\u201d said Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, whose district includes the Blue Diamond site. \u201cThat\u2019s a big opportunity for the community, to think about what kinds of investments we want to see. I think housing is right in line.\u201d<\/p>\n Sacramento-based Bardis & Miry led development of the Mill project, a former lumber mill that occupied 30 acres south of Broadway, The Bee previously reported.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Blue Diamond plant site has been a part of Sacramento for over a century, and we are grateful for the opportunity to build on that legacy in a way that will serve the community for many years to come,\u201d Katherine Bardis, a principal at Bardis & Miry Development, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Blue Diamond said it will retain the remaining 19 acres of the site, on the northeast side of the campus to continue in-shell almond processing. The cooperative\u2019s leaders announced last month they would keep that portion of the plant running<\/a>, a reversal from their original plans to fully end manufacturing at the campus.<\/p>\n That section, the cooperative said last month, will support about 90 jobs. The plant employed more than 600 as of last summer, but has been reducing positions in phases.<\/p>\n Blue Diamond said Tuesday that it had agreed to lease back its corporate headquarters for three years, ensuring it will remain at the midtown property until at least April 2030. The cooperative had committed to keeping its corporate headquarters in the Sacramento area, though leaders previously said they hadn\u2019t determined where in the area it would be over the long term.<\/p>\n Blue Diamond was represented in the deal by Ken Turton, of Turton Commercial Real Estate, whose firm has handled other complex transactions in the region. It represented CalPERS in the sale of 301 Capitol Mall \u2014 the vacant city block that was once home to the Sacramento Union newspaper<\/a> \u2014 to the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians in 2024. His firm handled the sales of a handful of buildings on K Street, consulted on Project Elevate, a retail and entertainment project<\/a> in Elk Grove, and was hired to lease the retail space in the \u201cDowntown Dova\u201d project in Rancho Cordova<\/a>.<\/p>\n Turton declined to comment Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Blue Diamond campus sits in an incongruous section of Sacramento that is in somewhat of a transition, bordered to the west by the suburb-bound 16th Street corridor and to the south by residential midtown.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a crucial time,\u201d said Devin Strecker, executive director of the property-based improvement district for the River District, where the plant sits.<\/p>\n Developers announced plans a few years ago to convert an old produce terminal nearby on 16th Street into a mixed-use project called the \u201cGrowers\u2019 District.\u201d Another location along the corridor is for sale, Strecker said, and he has been encouraging the brokers to \u201cthink big\u201d about what it could become.<\/p>\n Strecker\u2019s agency, in planning documents, has envisioned a future for that section of Sacramento that would retain the historic, red brick buildings, but bring new restaurants and activity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just really exciting to think that, in a few years\u2019 time, that vision could be shifting into reality,\u201d he said. \u201cIt seems like things are starting to take shape over there.\u201d<\/p>\n Strecker and Pluckebaum said they were pleased that housing was at the forefront of the developers\u2019 plans. And the proposal raises new possibilities in its proximity to the American River and its bike trail, which connects to midtown at C and 19th streets alongside Blue Diamond. It could serve as an opportunity for Sacramento to make greater use of its riverfront, Pluckebaum said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll these things we\u2019ve been working on for decades may, finally start coming together,\u201d Pluckebaum said. \u201cI\u2019m sure eventually it\u2019ll be the decade that we finally see Kaiser in the Railyards, and Republic, and the Grower\u2019s District. And this project. And you start seeing the dominoes start to fall.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, for the Blue Diamond site, there are challenges ahead that can\u2019t be discounted \u2014 namely, financing, entitlements and planning review, Pluckebaum said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat has been the sort of Achilles\u2019 heel of all other projects in the region for the last decade,\u201d Pluckebaum said.<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:54 AM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"As](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SAC_4977_BlueDiamond_HA_251111.JPG\" "\\"SAC_4977_BlueDiamond_HA_251111.JPG\\"")
As the Blue Diamond plant prepares to close in 2026, the future of the buildings at the Sacramento plant are still in question. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n![\"As](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SAC_5182_BlueDiamond_HA_251111.JPG\" "\\"SAC_5182_BlueDiamond_HA_251111.JPG\\"")
As the Blue Diamond plant in Sacramento prepares to close in 2026, employees drive between the buildings on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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