Placer County approves Alchemy Surf Resort as developer eyes 2027 construction

A resort with a five-acre surfing lagoon, a 100-room hotel and 22 bungalows won approval from the Placer County Planning Commission on Sept. 24, with its developer hoping to begin construction in spring or summer 2027.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve Alchemy Surf Resort on a 32-acre site in Placer One, the community taking shape north of Roseville. The property sits north of the planned Placer One Boulevard, east of Foothills Boulevard North and immediately south of the planned Placer Parkway.

Chris Gallardo, the resort’s co-founder and managing partner, told commissioners the project had occupied the past five years of his life. Asked whether the team had the financing and investment needed to proceed, he answered yes, then qualified that response: some commitments depended on securing the county approval.

He did not provide an opening date at the meeting. The resort’s website projects a summer 2027 groundbreaking and 18 to 24 months of construction.

Inland Surf Company’s plans combine a year-round surf facility with lodging, restaurants, swimming pools and space for skateboarding and other sports. Guests would buy one-hour surf sessions or day passes for the beaches, pools and other recreational amenities, according to the county staff report.

The resort would join a development area that county officials have spent years planning for housing, employment and higher education. Placer One is governed by the 2,213-acre Placer Ranch Specific Plan, approved in 2019, which calls for 5,636 homes and includes land for a future Sacramento State campus.

Gallardo, a former professional snowboarder, described his interest in the project through his own experience growing up with a single mother. When the time and cost of organized sports became difficult for his family, a skateboard gave him an activity he could pursue on his own.

“I could simply skateboard right in my driveway all by myself,” he told commissioners.

That led to surfing and then snowboarding. Gallardo moved from Pismo Beach to North Lake Tahoe in 1990 to pursue a professional snowboarding career. He and Andrea Gallardo, the resort’s co-founder and chief operating officer, later founded Inland Surf Company.

The central lagoon would use Wavegarden Cove technology to generate artificial waves. County documents describe space for about 50 to 60 surfers at a time on an average day, increasing to as many as 90 during peak periods. The lagoon would operate from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. during summer, with shorter hours in other seasons.

A two-story surf center would house check-in, equipment storage, training and fitness rooms, a café and a restaurant and bar overlooking the water. The adjacent three-story hotel would have a restaurant, a rooftop bar and a pool limited to hotel guests. The restaurants and bars would be open to the public.

The 22 detached bungalows, each about 390 square feet, would line the western and southern sides of the lagoon. Plans also include a standing wave pool, beaches, hot tubs and cold plunges, a skate plaza and an action sports building with indoor skate features, trampolines, a foam pit and a climbing wall.

The operating plan anticipates about 530 visitors on a low-season weekday and 2,180 on a summer weekend or holiday. Staffing would range from about 148 employees over a low-season day to 205 during peak season, according to the staff report. Those figures are projections.

Visit Placer and the Placer Business Alliance submitted letters supporting the project, citing its potential to draw new visitors and spending at surrounding businesses. Parents and surfers also described the travel required to pursue the sport from inland communities.

Rebecca Delozier of Dixon wrote that her three daughters, ages 10, 12 and 14, surf in the Santa Cruz area, making regular practice a substantial undertaking.

“Because we live inland, however, pursuing that passion requires us to travel regularly to the coast,” she wrote.

The commission’s approval included a subdivision map, conditional use permit, design review and a variance allowing a third freestanding sign. Commissioners also determined, as staff recommended, that the project falls within the scope of the environmental impact report for the Sunset Area and Placer Ranch plans and its later addenda, and that no further environmental review is required.

The lagoon would hold approximately 21 acre-feet of water, or about 6.8 million gallons. Placer County Water Agency would supply drinking-quality water for the lagoon and other domestic uses, while recycled water would irrigate landscaping. Plans call for a lined lagoon with leak detection and a water treatment system.

Construction is planned in two phases. The first includes the lagoon, surf center, hotel, bungalows, restaurants and beach amenities; the action sports building would follow in the second.

Gallardo told commissioners the hotel could be pushed into a later phase if financing required it, though the team wants to open the lodging and surf facilities together to avoid operating beside an active construction site. All infrastructure, utilities, roads and parking needed to serve the resort must be completed and accepted by the county before its amenities can open to the public.

Alchemy Surf Resort project location