A riverfront hotel proposed for the tiny Sacramento County community of Hood is still working through environmental review, with developer Robert Leach now targeting a fall 2027 construction start. The 2020 census pegged Hood at just 244 residents.
Leach is making what Comstock's Magazine calls a multimillion-dollar bet on Hood, with the publication reporting Leach estimates the private investment at $39.9 million. The project has shifted over time: Comstock's reports the plan has moved from an earlier concept toward a 64-suite River Hotel & Spa featuring a full-service spa, restaurant, lounge and 650-foot public marina. Elsewhere, CBS Sacramento has described an earlier version of the proposal as a 60-room, four-story hotel with a marina holding space for 20 boats, while West River Hotels' own website describes a 60-room boutique hotel with a marina offering 20 rental berths and five guest docks. The exact scale of the finished project appears to remain in flux as planning continues.
Review Process Adds a Year to the Timeline
According to Comstock's, Leach says the hotel is undergoing a full environmental impact review and that the process has added roughly a year to the schedule. The Sacramento Business Journal reported that Leach aims to begin construction in fall 2027, a developer target rather than a confirmed county construction date. An earlier plan put a possible groundbreaking in summer 2026.
Before any groundbreaking, the project still needs sign-off from Sacramento County's planning commission and other regulatory agencies, per the same CBS Sacramento report.
Sewer Upgrade Underway, But Timing for the Hotel Site Unclear
A Franklin and Hood septic-to-sewer conversion project is underway, Comstock's reports. The Sacramento Area Sewer District says commercial, industrial and mixed-use properties within the project area may have the opportunity to connect to the public system, but owners will be responsible for covering part or all of the connection costs.
The sewer district frames the broader upgrade as an environmental safeguard, noting that converting aging or failing septic systems to public sewer reduces the risk of septic leakage and keeps pollutants from reaching groundwater. The project draws on a mix of funding sources, including an EPA Community Grant Program grant, with state Water Resources Control Board grants and Sacramento County American Rescue Plan funds covering residential connection costs.
Leach's Track Record and the Bigger Delta Push
This wouldn't be Leach's first hospitality project in the region. CBS Sacramento reports he previously built the Westin Hotel space now occupied by Scott's Seafood in Sacramento, as well as the Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom. Comstock's adds that West River Hotels' own marketing touts the Hood project as the first hotel built on the Sacramento River since 2006, with suites designed to face the water alongside a pool and marina.
KCRA has reported that local business owners expect the hotel to boost the local economy, including by serving wedding guests and visitors to nearby wineries.
For now, Hood's transformation remains a work in progress, tied to the pace of environmental review, county approvals and the slower-moving sewer upgrade. Whether the fall 2027 target holds will depend on how quickly those pieces fall into place.
