Sacramento State eyes state-owned sites for downtown ‘mixed-use university village’
Sacramento State is exploring an expansion downtown, officials said Tuesday, a move that local civic leaders have lobbied for as a means of growing housing, foot traffic and vibrancy in the city’s core.
Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said Tuesday that the university is “actively evaluating opportunities to transform downtown with a mixed-use university village.” Ault added that the group is exploring how “underutilized state assets” can be used.
“This has the potential to change our downtown forever,” Ault said.
Officials have called for higher education institutions to expand downtown, on the belief that a steady student presence there will boost a district struggling with vacant properties and lower-than-normal foot traffic. It was a common talking point during the mayoral race last year. At the time, University President Luke Wood had already publicly hinted at the idea of a downtown campus.
In a statement, the university said it was working with the California Department of General Services, which oversees state-owned buildings, toward establishing a site near the Capitol. The department granted the university an exclusivity period to evaluate certain properties on Capitol Mall between 8th and 9th streets.
The statement mentioned the Employment Development Department headquarters building, the EDD Solar Building and the State Personnel Board Building. The state had previously planned to convert the buildings into affordable housing units, but last year the developer selected to undertake the renovation withdrew from the project.
“If we could get more residents, get educational uses, continue the efforts with festivals and other things, we could find downtown being more diverse and more dynamic than it was,” Ault said.
Ault’s remarks came during the partnership’s annual State of Downtown breakfast. In an interview before the event, Ault said he senses more optimism about the district than he did just one year earlier. In the coming weeks, Sacramento will be broadcast around the world when the Athletics play their home opener at Sutter Health Park. Kaiser Permanente will break ground on a new hospital in the Railyard in March.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said during the event Tuesday that by this summer the city plans to solicit proposals to sell the Hale Building. The site, at 827 K Street, is partially vacant, said Geneva Hutcheson, the mayor’s communications director.
More incremental projects are also making a difference, Ault said, like a refresh of the neglected median along Capitol Mall. Meanwhile, the partnership is attempting to expand its footprint to offer services like security, cleaning, homeless outreach and economic development to a larger chunk of the city. It needs approval from the area’s property owners, who fund the partnership through their taxes, and the group is currently gathering signatures, Ault said.
With the A’s opening day only weeks away, it was clear Tuesday that many of Sacramento’s business leaders have aspirations to secure Major League Baseball’s long-term presence in the region.
Ault said he’s been asked in interviews, lately, if he’s disappointed that the A’s will only play in West Sacramento for three years before relocating to Las Vegas.
“Absolutely not,” Ault said. “This is a huge deal for our capital region, and our opportunity to show Major League Baseball that Sacramento is ready to be its next great market.”
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said during a keynote address that Sacramento made a good impression with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred during a visit here in January.
“It’s fair to say he was very happy. He was impressed,” Ranadivé said.
Ranadivé has previously said that he hopes the A’s three-year stint in West Sacramento will help the region win an expansion team.
“It’s our moment,” Ranadive said Tuesday. “It’s our chance to show that we really deserve another major league sports team.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM.
