Public financing plan approved to transform old Arco Arena site in Natomas

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the term sheet to get the ball rolling on plans to transform the old Arco Arena site in Naomas.

The 183-acre site would have three different components broken up into districts.

The Life District would have nearly 1500 residential units, 24 acres of parks and a school. The Innovation District would be a mix of commercial and residential buildings with retail. The Health District, spearheaded by California Northstate University, would include a teaching hospital with medical offices, a university campus and childcare.

In all, the project is expected to create more than 14,000 jobs and revolutionize Natomas . This project has been years in the making, with the mayor calling it a key moment in Sacramento's economic future.

"The promise made at the time was that when the [Sacramento] Kings moved from Natomas that the city would work with the Kings and the private sector and the men and women of Sacramento to build not just housing but a job creator, a job driver, an economic driver," Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. "It's taken some time and look what we've been through — recessions. pandemics — but when you stick with it and have the right project and combination, that brings us to now in this day."

We've still got a long way to go before any groundbreaking. The council will be reconvening at the end of May for a resolution of intention.

There has been some pushback from the public and council members on specific plans and financing as well as concern over the quality of construction and jobs. However, the goal is to form an enhanced infrastructure financing district by early 2025 to get the backbone infrastructure started.