Centene Eyes Third Building for Natomas Campus

The Centene campus is open in Natomas with plenty of room to grow. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo

BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz

It may not look like it from the outside, but Centene is open for business and already planning to add a third office building to its campus in Natomas.

That’s according to Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby, who gave an update on the Fortune 50 company during the 16th annual State of Natomas hosted virtually last week by the Natomas Chamber of Commerce.

According to Ashby, the health insurer has already hired 2,300 workers out of the 5,000 high-wage jobs it promised to bring to the region.

About 1,600 of those employees are currently working remotely, she said.

“But it won’t be long before they start their third building on that site,” she added.

Ashby represents north Natomas, where the Centene campus is located, on the Sacramento City Council.

Sources say Centene employees are expected to start returning to work in person in September and be completely phased in by the end of 2021. According to the Centene website, the company is actively hiring for several positions in Sacramento.

At full buildout, the campus is envisioned to have five multi-story office buildings surrounding an outdoor courtyard area. A state-of-the-art childcare facility and possibly a parking structure are also part of the plans.

Currently, the 68-acre campus consists of two, four-story office buildings — more than 500,000 square feet — joined at the ground floor by a connecting lobby which serves as the public entry for the site and building, as well as a 17,160 square foot, single-story childcare facility.

Sources have confirmed that Centene is already looking at the design of a third building.

Located at 4191 and 4151 East Commerce Way, Centene is visible from Interstate 5. A paved bike and walking trail also completed as part of the first phase of Centene’s construction now parallels the campus and runs from Del Paso Road to Arena Boulevard.

The first two multi-story buildings on the Centene campus are complete and connected by a lobby. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo

Architect rendering shows what the completed Centene campus could look like when complete, including a parking structure facing Interstate 5. / Image: Stantec/RMW

Architect rendering shows the completed Centene campus and childcare facility which faces East Commerce Way. / Image: Stantec/RMW