Sacramento will return to the past to bring a new future
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - It's the answer to these enormous empty buildings on the Capitol Mall. Turning the office space into living space.
"The state isn’t necessarily the best tenant for the city of Sacramento."
Downtown restaurant owner John Vignocci likes it, especially post-COVID, with state workers still choosing to work from home.
"Let's rip the band-aid off, and let's try to stuff as much housing and as many people downtown because I think that will really revitalize the whole downtown core," Vignocci continued.
Monumental shift
"We know that we have a housing supply crisis," said Assemblymember Kevin McCarty.
McCarty and Sacramento Mayor Darryl Steinberg announced the monumental shift for Capitol Mall; an attempt to turn the EDD headquarters, the EDD solar building, and the state personnel board building into affordable housing units. Thus, converting the existing structures into apartments.
"A thousand or more units potentially between the three buildings," said Steinberg.
Its not so far fetched.
"The Capitol Mall Project"
"If we were to take a step back in time; go back to 1945, 1950, what do we see here? Ah, you would have seen homes and small businesses."
Chris Lango is a Sacramento historian.
Lango showed photos of what used to be in the same place at the EDD building: Housing.
"9th and Capitol. An apartment building called The Wallis," Lango spoke.
The Wallis was demolished to build up what later became known as “The Capitol Mall Project." Replacing the west end, and the city’s workforce, with state buildings that redeveloped the gateway of Sacramento.
"Part of the battles that were fought during that time involved buildings versus people…and the buildings won," Lango delved further.
Returning to the past to bring a new future
Now, a new effort to bring people back to downtown.
"Imagine what this could look like in 5 years," Steinberg spoke.
A promise of a new future for downtown Sacramento, with a return to the past.
