New homeless housing complex coming to downtown Sacramento. See where
A large apartment complex for formerly homeless people in downtown Sacramento will soon be expanded.
The Sacramento City Council Tuesday approved $7.8 million in state and city loans for the new five-story building near 11th and H streets. This will be for formerly homeless individuals who earn under 30% area median income.
For individuals living alone, that currently equals $22,530 per year, a city staff report said.
The vote was unanimous, with Councilmember Lisa Kaplan absent. Councilmember Roger Dickinson raised concerns about all the units being for extremely low income individuals.
“I support this, but my experience tells me having a mix of income, even in affordable projects, is a desirable thing to do,” said Dickinson, a former state assemblyman whose term on council representing North Sacramento began Dec. 10. “While housing is the primary objective, if we keep people isolated by economic status, that has ramifications to it ... it would be good to bring some economic integration, but we are where we are.”
Danco Communities to develop
The building will have 52 units, comprised of 35 studio units and 17 one-bedroom units, the staff report said. The studios will be 420 square feet, while the one bedrooms will be 800 square feet.
The project will be adjacent to Central Sacramento Studios Phase 1. That project opened in 2023 with 92 units for formerly homeless people at the former Best Western Sutter House motel.
When the council was approving the first phase, in 2021, representatives from Visit Sacramento and the Downtown Partnership raised concerns about the project eliminating downtown motel rooms. No members of those organizations traveled to City Hall Tuesday to express concerns about the second phase of the project.
Humboldt County-based Danco Communities will develop the project, the staff report said. It also developed the first phase. LifeSTEPS will provide resident services, including workforce development, job search assistance, and case management.
Loans to cover a portion of project
Of the $7.8 million, $3.7 million is from the state’s Local Housing Trust Fund, and $3.9 million is from the city’s Housing Trust Fund, the staff report said. An extra $200,000 is from Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, a federal program.
The loans will only cover a portion of the project. The total project cost is about $31 million, not including the operating expenses, according to the staff report. That’s about $602,000 per unit, which is fairly common for government-subsidized affordable housing in the Sacramento region.
The project will help the city meet its annual housing goals. Last year, the city issued 407 housing permits for new units for extremely low or very low-income tenants, the report stated. That was less than half its goal of 1,308 for the year.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM.
