The Abridged version:
- Developers broke ground on a 134-unit affordable housing complex at 16th and T streets on Wednesday.
- The complex is expected to open in early 2027.
- Funding for the project was put together in just over a year, which is an unusually quick timeline.
Construction has started on a large affordable housing community in downtown Sacramento.
The 134-unit Sakura complex is being built at 16th and T streets. The project is adding much-needed affordable housing options to the region, while also signaling another investment in the yearslong effort to remake the busy 16th Street corridor.
The five-story apartment building will replace a former auto repair shop and is expected to open in early 2027. Studio and one-bedroom apartments will be available to households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, or roughly between $25,000 and $60,000 per year. A retail space on the ground floor for a local small business is also part of the plan.
Funding for the affordable housing development
Funding for the project was put together in just over a year, an unusually quick timeline in a state and region where constructing affordable housing often takes years. At a price tag of roughly $34 million — or about $253,000 per unit — Sakura’s construction cost is also well below what it has taken to get other affordable housing communities built in Sacramento.
Much of the funding came from loans and grants from the state’s highly competitive Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program.
The name Sakura refers to the flower of ornamental cherry trees often found in Japan.
“We transition this automotive-related use to a place for our shared future,” said Danielle Foster, the executive director of the Capitol Area Development Authority at a Wednesday groundbreaking ceremony. “Sakura is a chance to plant seeds for a community that adds beauty to this neighborhood, a place where 134 affordable apartments allow residents to thrive, grow and truly have a place to call home.
“(Wednesday) is about breaking new ground as we look towards Sakura’s future and the community connections it will bring, and those it has already grown.”
The project is being developed by CADA and Mutual Housing California, who are also partnering on a 241-unit affordable housing project at Eighth and R streets.
The city of Sacramento has made significant progress in recent years in developing and renovating affordable housing communities. Still, the need for more is severe; a regional housing needs assessment developed by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments determined the city needed to build nearly 17,000 units of housing affordable for families earning very low or low incomes this decade to meet demand.
Ryan Lillis is Associate General Manager, News, at PBS KVIE.