The Abridged version:
- $48 million in upgrades to Old Sacramento’s waterfront are facing delays due to complications around leases and bond financing.
- City leaders previously approved broad improvements to the waterfront to bring in more tourism and support the historic district’s businesses.
- New redevelopment plans, approved by the City Council on Tuesday, change the schedule for some upgrades, including a new children’s playground and a public market.
Sacramento’s $48 million attempt to breathe new life into Old Sacramento’s waterfront has hit a few snags.
City leaders approved broad improvements to Old Sacramento a year ago. They included construction of a new public market along the waterfront, a new children’s play area, boardwalk improvements and repairs to the vacated Rio City Cafe restaurant space. The effort was to be fueled by $40 million in bonds backed by hotel occupancy taxes, plus state and federal grants.
Over the last year, however, city staff discovered complications with lease agreements for some parts of the waterfront and paused the bond issuance.
On Tuesday night, the Sacramento City Council voted to adjust the city’s development plan for the waterfront. The move allows some of the projects to move forward, while others await lease negotiations with the state.
State ownership of riverfront property delays bond funding
“It came to light the three projects that are on the west side of the wall are on property that the city leases from the state,” said Dustin Hollingsworth, assistant director of the city’s department of convention and cultural services.
While the city of Sacramento owns much of the property in Old Sacramento, the State Lands Commission owns everything west of the seawall on the banks of the Sacramento River.
“We wouldn’t be able to use the bond funding for the docks, for the barge, or for the restaurant deck until we have a new lease with the state,” Hollingsworth told the council.
The city is now changing the priority of waterfront projects.
The new plan’s Phase A now includes replacing the boardwalk, the children’s playground, plus design and construction of new public market buildings. Plans for Phase B include projects west of the seawall like the dock and barge improvements and finishing repairs on the old Rio City Cafe restaurant space.
The first phase previously included the bulk of the river-facing projects, and the second phase previously included construction of the public market.
What should Old Sacramento be?
Old Sacramento sees about 4 million annual visitors, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Despite the popularity, improvements for the area are much-needed, said Councilmember Roger Dickinson.
“We often seem to be in conflict with ourselves with what Old Sacramento ought to be,” Dickinson said, noting that historic districts in San Diego or Williamsburg, Va., capture the essence of an era. Dickinson said he doesn’t get that sense from Old Sacramento where old-fashioned wooden boardwalks and paved streets for cars stand side-by-side.
“I hope there will be a point in time … where we do talk about what we want Old Sacramento to be and what it will take to be that ultimate destination,” Dickinson said.
Projects delayed to 2026 and beyond
The new children’s playground, originally slated to finish construction this year, is now poised to be finished by the end of next summer, according to city spokesperson Jennifer Singer. The playground — which is being designed with input from two local Native American tribes — is set to go before the tribal councils for approval this month.
A full replacement of the wooden boardwalks that line Old Sacramento has also been delayed. City staff originally estimated the replacement would be finished by October 2025. The latest estimate now pushes that date out to next spring.
The city won’t be able to begin its Phase B projects until it has a new lease with the State Lands Commission as well as sign-off from the City Council. The process around the new lease “could take a year or more,” according to a city staff report.
City seeks new tenant for former Rio City Cafe space
Rio City Cafe shut its doors after 30 years in business in August 2024. The restaurant’s owners said the closure was in part due to the city shuttering access to its riverfront deck because of structural integrity concerns, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.
The city of Sacramento is the landlord, and earlier this year opened applications for a new tenant to fill the restaurant space. City staffers are currently working with interested businesses to “find the right operators” for the buildings, Singer said.
The city used grant funding to repair the deck earlier this year, but some maintenance remains, Singer said.
Felicia Alvarez is a reporter at Abridged covering accountability. She’s called Sacramento home since 2015 and has reported on government, health care and breaking news topics for both local and national news outlets.