Places: Rancho Cordova, California: Growing Pains

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A close look reveals that Rancho Cordova has all the symptoms of a place going through puberty: the growing pains (more people means more traffic on Hwy. 50), the identity issues (as a smaller, younger sibling to Sacramento) and the physical changes in a community trying to figure out what it means to mature as a city.

But most of its 60,000 residents would say the maturation is progress. Since 2003, when Rancho Cordova became California’s newest city, officials and community leaders have pushed to improve its image. Once blighted by closing businesses, potholed roads and excess trash, Rancho Cordova — according to 75 percent of selected residents in a city survey — is on the right track.

“It was kind of rundown,” says Rebecca Truscott, 25, whose family has lived there for more than two decades. “When it became a city, that’s when things started looking up. Now the roads are getting fixed, the buildings are getting cleaned up.”

About 12 miles east of Sacramento, Rancho Cordova is a city striving to preserve the good parts of its past while moving forward into a future of redevelopment. Mills Station, for instance, a city landmark that was one of the local stopping points for the Pony Express, is a community center. Mather Field, once an Air Force Base used during World War II for flight training, has become a civilian air field and business park. At the heart of the new city lies the historic Matthew Kilgore Cemetery, the last home of many of the city’s pioneer founding families.

Jerry Ahlin, who has lived in the city since 1973, wants to create a rugby complex at Mather Regional Park to attract international tourists and locals interested in the popular global sport. Ahlin, who helped create the Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation five years ago, is in negotiations with county officials to create about 10 rugby and soccer fields on 150 acres.

But few have forgotten the hard times. In the 1960s, more than 20,000 people worked in Rancho Cordova at Aerojet, a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer. By the 1990s, the company had downsized and now has only 1,400 employees. At the same time, Mather closed, and 8,000 military and civilian jobs were lost.

“Some of the people in the region remember us in our not-so-glory days,” says Ted A. Gaebler, city manager. “We’ve recovered. Our No. 1 goal is to change our image with longtime residents.”

The city is still dealing with everyday issues. There is much controversy over flights to nearby Mather Airport, and area freeways remain congested at rush hour. Some businesses struggle to compete with the newer nearby markets.

“Rancho still has a long way to go,” says Alex Won, 28, co-owner of Yunece 61, a two-year old Memphis-style barbecue restaurant on Folsom Blvd. “It’s been around for a long time, and a lot of people migrate to newer areas like Elk Grove. If I could do it again, I absolutely would have put (my business) in a different location.”

Still, for many residents who work in Sacramento, the proximity is a plus. Ask current residents why they like Rancho Cordova, and the first thing many will say is “because it’s close to work.”

Officials want to see more development so more residents can live near their jobs. They also want to build a vibrant downtown. And with 25 square miles of open space that isn’t farmland, Rancho Cordova still has plenty of room to grow.

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