This year’s State of Downtown Breakfast was a modest affair. With no high-profile project or plan to unveil, the event featured mostly small steps unlikely to generate much excitement.
But there’s no shortage of cool stuff happening to shake the central city out of the doldrums.
Let’s start with safety. Downtown Partnership Executive Director Michael Ault says nothing’s more important than keeping people safe. That’s why the partnership is hiring private security patrols to augment police.
“Safety is the foundation that our city needs to be built on and without it nothing else will succeed,” Ault told the breakfast audience.
Safety extends to more than crime. The California Office of Traffic Safety named Sacramento second worst in the state for traffic accidents resulting in injuries or death, behind Long Beach. We need fewer one-way streets Downtown, more protected bicycle lanes and other actions that slow cars.
But there are reasons for optimism about Downtown. The positivity was captured by a clever David Letterman-inspired Top Ten list presented by Mayor Kevin McCarty, showing Downtown is “stabilized, focused and rising.”
Here comes the mayor’s list, edited for clarity and brevity, along with his quotes:
10. Downtown Partnership. The organization has been renewed for another 10 years and expanded from 66 to 102 blocks. “That’s confidence and commitment.”
9. Safer Downtown. Violent and property crimes are down in the central city. The city added new safety measures, including expanded Downtown security teams, police bike patrols in Downtown Commons and 6,000 LED lights on Downtown streets.
8. Homelessness. Homelessness is down, with counts dropping since 2023. “We’re nowhere near done, but with more enforcement and increased bed capacity, we’re moving in the right direction.”
7. Waterfront buzz. “We’ve rebuilt the docks, are in final negotiations for a new restaurant at the Rio City Cafe site and are pleased to welcome Biergarten to activate the decades-unused boardwalk location.”
6. Downtown gets educated. Momentum is growing for Sac State’s Downtown campus, supported with a $50 million gift from Meta. “This is a game changer. With a big assist from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Meta, we’re launching an exciting Downtown campus. I’ve been working on repurposing vacant state buildings for a while now and I’m certain this will change Downtown forever.”
5. Hale office conversion. “Last year, we committed to leading by example and converting our (city-owned) dormant office building on K Street into housing and retail. We’re negotiating with our preferred applicant to make this happen and bring long-term vibrancy.”
4. Revitalized railyards. “The largest infill project in the country is bustling. Kaiser Permanente’s major hospital complex (is) underway. The Sacramento Republic’s FC stadium is under construction, more than 500 new residents have moved into new housing, and the new county courthouse is set to open in April.”
3. Pedestrian resurgence. “Foot traffic Downtown has increased for five straight years. We are now at 87% pre-pandemic levels. Workers, residents, visitors, they’re returning.”
2. Housing gains. “Nearly 5,000 new housing units have been added Downtown over the last decade. Hundreds more are under construction. As interest rates shift, more projects are ready to move.”
1. Sports fans. The Kings, A’s and River Cats drew nearly 1.8 million fans last year. “That’s pride, national exposure and revenue for our city. And Sacramento is MLB-ready. Stay tuned for the launch of our MLB Forever campaign with West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero.”
Not a bad list for a Downtown that has taken more than its share of knocks the past several years. And like a baseball game, we have a scorecard to keep track of how well the home team does.
Gary Delsohn can be reached at gdelsohn@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
