ELK GROVE — A mixed-use development known as Project Elevate is in the works for the City of Elk Grove.

Project Elevate would be located in the 20-acre vacant lot right in between Elk Grove Boulevard and Civic Center Drive, near Big Horn Boulevard on the southeast side of the city.

"I'd like to see high-end," said Stephanie Sexton, who was visiting Elk Grove on Tuesday. "I would like to see a mall like Roseville, the Galleria."

Renderings of the mixed-use project show room for new-to-market retail stores, a four-story boutique hotel, open lawn space, and a road through the center connecting Civic Center Drive to Elk Grove Boulevard.

"The initial vision had a lot of residential components, but we have discovered there are challenges from a financing perspective," said Elk Grove City Councilmember Darren Suen.

Suen has been working on Project Elevate for six years now. He was inspired by the Irvine Spectrum Center in Orange County to bring something similar to Elk Grove.

"Our residents have been screaming for a place to shop for a long time," said Suen.

He said the housing part of the plan is on pause for now but hopes the market will change. The other amenities are still attractive to people like Sexton. 

"Sacramento has a lot of homeless and every time I go shopping at my places like my Safeway, I get hit up," said Sexton.

She said she would make the drive from East Sacramento to Elk Grove even more often if the mixed-use space is built, but traffic is still top of mind for some.

"The challenge, I think, is what is now going to be happening soon is the infrastructure," said John Abernathy, who lives in Elk Grove. "We need to really get ahead of that because the traffic is going to really be challenging."

Elk Grove City Council will consider approving a purchase and sale agreement with developer CenterCal Acquisitions at Wednesday night's city council meeting.

The next steps will be reviewing the land and making more designs of the space.

• Elk Grove