Mark Twain fans know the tale about his obituary getting published while he was still alive, followed by Twain’s protest that “reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.” Accurate or not, the quote applies to Downtown.
When I wrote my first column for Inside in August 2019, the central city was on a roll. Golden 1 Center was only a few years old and getting high marks. Hotels and new housing were coming online. There were plans for riverfront development.
Energy and momentum Downtown were palpable. Everything was looking up. The headline an editor put on my debut column summed up the mood: “It’s finally our moment, Sacramento.”
A few months later, it all ground to a halt. The pandemic locked down much of California. With state employees working remotely, Downtown was deserted. Restaurants and small businesses failed by the day.
Then came violent demonstrations protesting the murder of George Floyd. The positive momentum was gone. Downtown became a depressing topic. Talk focused on struggling businesses, crime and homeless encampments.
Fast forward to now, and everything has changed. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered most state workers back to the office at least four days a week starting in July. They don’t seem happy about it, but it’s the best news for Downtown in years.
The day before I spoke with leaders of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Kaiser Permanente broke ground on a hospital and medical campus in the railyards that will bring more than 2,500 employees and several billion dollars’ worth of economic activity.
Let’s not forget our experiment in hosting Major League Baseball across the river in West Sac, bringing an estimated 1 million people to the center of town for three or four seasons.
The railyards will soon be home to a 12,000-seat soccer stadium and entertainment district. Channel 24, a new concert venue, is booking acts in Midtown. There are revived plans for the waterfront and money to carry them out.
Problems still exist, but Downtown has regained its swagger, with the promise of more to come—fantastic news for the city.
“It would be very easy for us to be defeated by the last several years and things that have gone on,” Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, tells me. “But we’ve got to be aspirational. We’ve got to be excited about it and take these wins like Kaiser, the soccer stadium, the hotel, replanting of the lawn on Capitol Mall, Major League Baseball, and champion them. Using a baseball analogy, pulling together a lot of singles can lead to something, and these are potential game changers for us.”
Ault is right, and so is Scott Ford, the partnership’s deputy director, when he says this matters even if you never go Downtown.
“The economic activity generated within the 5 square miles of the central city is by far the highest per square mile of any other part of the Sacramento region,” Ford says. “When you look at taxable revenues, essential services, getting us out of a structural deficit—it is incumbent on us to have a healthy, thriving city and Downtown is the center of all that.”
Having thousands of state workers back—even if they’re grumpy about it—along with sold-out A’s games, among other activities, is a big emotional boost for Downtown businesses that have struggled to stay open.
“We know people are coming back who may not want to,” Ault says. “But we have missed you. What can we do to make the environment exciting for you to be here and want to be here? Our goal is for them to start coming back and getting into a groove and us to start realizing the folks that have been at home are coming back to our farmers market. They’re coming back to our Friday night concerts. They’re coming back to that coffee shop that’s been holding on by its fingernails for a while.”
There’s genuine excitement about Downtown for the first time in years. Hope to see you enjoying the scene sometime soon.
Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
