AREA PROFILE 2 AREA PROFILE

2.1 OVERVIEW This chapter profiles existing conditions within the Washington District. It describes the regional, city, and local context, along with a history of the area. Existing demographics and site information are also provided, along with a discussion of future opportunities and pending/approved projects.

View of the and Downtown Sacramento from the Washington District

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2.2 REGIONAL & LOCAL CONTEXT West Sacramento lies in eastern Yolo County across the Sacramento River from Downtown Sacramento. The city is bounded by the river on the east and the on the west. Other Yolo County communities are to the west and northwest (e.g., Davis, Woodland), Sutter County is to the north, and Placer County is to the northeast. The Specific Plan area lies in the northeast part of West Sacramento.

The Washington District is located near Interstate 80, which runs through the northwestern part of the city, and Highway 50/Business 80, which bisects the city, running east-west. Interstate 5 runs north-south through the City of Sacramento just across the river. Figure 2-1 shows the Specific Plan area within a broader regional context.

Figure 2-1: Regional Context

Washington Specific Plan | City of West Sacramento | 2-3 AREA PROFILE

2.3 AREA & NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT 2.3.1 JOINT RIVERFRONT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT The Washington District is one of several communities planned up and down the Sacramento River in both West Sacramento and Sacramento (see Figure 2-2). The Washington District is similar to Old Sacramento, which is directly to the east in Sacramento, in that both are established historic areas. The larger riverfront is surrounded by a variety of neighborhoods and districts that represent a mix of land uses in various stages of development and establishment.

West Sacramento has a longstanding desire for a vibrant urban riverfront and has begun implementing this vision. The Washington District is part of a series of revitalization planning efforts that line the Sacramento River. Other efforts in West Sacramento include the Bridge District, Pioneer Bluff, Stone Lock and Southport to the south, and the Indian Heritage Center and the Rivers to the north. In Sacramento, planning efforts cover the Railyards, Old Sacramento, the Docks, and the West Broadway Specific Plan area. The plans for these areas collectively articulate a shift from mostly single uses (e.g., industrial or residential) to mixed-use districts, with a variety of densities and heights. Key projects completed on the riverfront include the CALSTRS building, Ziggurat building, River Walk, the Barn, and new housing in the Bridge District.

In Sacramento, plans are being conceptualized in Old Sacramento for a Front Street Park, which would create open space between Old Sacramento storefronts and the water. There are several projects planned for the 244-acre Railyards site, including a major league soccer stadium, Kaiser hospital and medical complex, and residential, office, and retail uses. The planned C Street Bridge will provide new access from the Washington District to the Railyards. Bicycle and pedestrian crossing on the upper deck of the existing I Street Bridge is currently being studied through the I Street Bridge Deck Conversion project. Other joint infrastructure projects include the Broadway Bridge project, which will connect South River Road on the west landing in West Sacramento and Broadway on the east landing in Sacramento.

Figure 2-2: Riverfront Developments Along Sacramento River

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2.3.2 SURROUNDING AREA NEIGHBORHOODS

The Washington District is the oldest neighborhood in West Sacramento and is surrounded by several other established neighborhoods: Broderick, Bryte, and Michigan-Glide-Sutter to the west, and Old West Sacramento to the southwest. The Iron Triangle is adjacent to the west and is an industrial district in transition. The 2035 General Plan rezoned the northern portion of Iron Triangle District to residential to align more closely with the Washington District. To the southwest, the Central Business District serves as the civic and cultural center and “downtown” of the city, with City Hall, Capitol Bowl, the Arthur F. Turner Community Library, and Sacramento City College’s West Sacramento Center. The Bridge District and Pioneer Bluff are other evolving riverfront neighborhoods that are located to the south of the Washington District.

Figure 2-3 shows the neighborhoods surrounding the Specific Plan area.

New housing development in the Bridge District Figure 2-3: Surrounding Neighborhoods and Districts

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2.4 HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Around 4,000 years ago, the Patwin Indians established small villages in the area on the high ground along the west bank of the Sacramento River. In the early nineteenth century, European fur trappers and traders began to explore the area. Along with trade, they also brought diseases that decimated the Native American population in the Sacramento Valley from 60,000 to 20,000. Many of the Patwin Indians who survived were either enslaved or went to work for the European traders, thus ending the traditional Patwin way of life.1 In 1839, Sutter’s Fort was established on the east side of the Sacramento River and became an important refuge for white settlers traveling to California from the east. One such traveler, was Jan Lows de Swart (later known as John Schwartz), who in 1844,

1 Yolo County Historical Society, “History of West Sacramento,” accessed May 28, 2019, https:// www.cityofwestsacramento.org/government/about-the-city/history-of-west-sacramento.

Source: Sacramento Public Library The I Street Bridge (ca. 1858)

built a small wooden shack along the west bank of the Sacramento River, just six miles south of its confluence with the American River, thus becoming the first permanent Euro-American settler in present-day West Sacramento.2 In 1845, Swart successfully applied to the Mexican government for a land grant and was awarded 13,000 acres along the west bank of the river. Swart named it Rancho Nueva Flandria and established a salmon fishery, raised livestock, and cultivated potatoes and melons there.3

In 1846, James McDowell, a settler from Kentucky, purchased 600 acres from Swart and built a house on one acre of the land for his wife, Margaret and his three daughters. After McDowell was killed in 1849, Margaret hired a land surveyor to plat out 160 acres of her land so she could sell off individual plots. 4 The platted area was divided into 41 blocks, with alphabetical streets named after members of Margaret’s family. The area was renamed the Town of Washington, thus becoming the oldest subdivision in West Sacramento.5 2 Walters, Shipley, 1987, West Sacramento: The Roots of a New City. 3 Idem. Source: Yolo-County Clerk-Recorder 1869 copy of the original 1849 Washington Town Plat 4 Yolo County Historical Society. 5 Washington Realized: A Sustainable Community Strategy, 2015.

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Source: Sacramento Public Library The town of Broderick (now part of West Sacramento) on the Sacramento River (1915)

Source: Sacramento Public Library The Port of Sacramento in West Sacramento (1965)

While the name “West Sacramento” was in use by 1850, the town was more commonly to Sacramento, it also meant that fewer travelers needed to stop in Washington before known as Washington until the early twentieth century. Washington was initially a continuing their journeys and it reduced income from ferry tolls across the river.7 quiet, rural place, but the California Gold Rush and the town’s prominent location on the Sacramento River and at the crossroads of several other overland routes quickly While Sacramento grew into a booming city on the opposite side of the river, turned it into an important rest stop for miners traveling to the gold fields to the east. Washington remained a small, rural town until the start of the twentieth century, when Recognizing the town’s potential as a port, the California Steam Navigation Company the construction of levees secured the town against frequent flooding and created established a shipyard along the riverfront in 1859 and became one of the town’s most acres of reclaimed land that could be cultivated. The region’s agricultural economy, as 8 prominent and long-standing businesses for almost 100 years.6 Fishing and agriculture well as the rail and trucking industries, expanded in response. The introduction of also contributed to the local economy. electric interurban railroads and the construction of a new M Street Bridge (i.e., Tower Bridge) improved connections between Washington and Sacramento and further The town of Washington appeared to be on the verge of becoming a thriving city to contributed to the area’s growth. Between 1900 and 1920, the population of West rival Sacramento. However, the town suffered several setbacks over the proceeding Sacramento doubled from 1,398 to 2,638.9 decades. The town was hit with frequent flooding throughout the 1850s and 1860s, and in 1858, the first bridge over the Sacramento River, the I Street Bridge, was constructed. While the bridge provided a quicker and more reliable route over the river

7 Walters. 6 Walters. 8 Washington Specific Plan, Revised 2009. 9 Walters.

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2.5 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE In 2017, The Washington District was home to 2,391 of West Sacramento’s 52,206 Households in the Washington District have lower incomes than the city as a whole, residents (under five percent). In terms of age, the Washington District has a younger with a median income of $46,405, compared to $59,586 citywide. Over 63 percent of population than the city as a whole, with 50 percent under the age of 34, and only 11 households make under $50,000, which is much higher than the citywide percentage percent age 65 or older. Like other areas of West Sacramento, educational attainment (33 percent). The poverty rate in Washington is higher (34 percent) than the City rate in the Washington District consists mostly of high school graduates and residents with (19 percent). some college or an Associate’s Degree (58 percent). There are large Russian and Latino Most Washington residents commute to work in individual cars (82 percent). Less than populations, with 56 percent of adults speaking English “less than well.” one-half percent use transit to get to work; primarily because they work early or late In the Washington District, there is an even split between non-family and family shifts that are not accommodated by existing transit, or they must travel a long households (49 and 51 percent respectively), which represents a higher share of distance for work and existing transit modes are not convenient. Responses from 72 non-family households than citywide numbers (33 percent). Homeownership rates are working households done through Washington Realized efforts revealed that only one low compared with the rest of the City. Most of the households in the area are renters household used transit as a primary mode of transportation. (75 percent), which is higher than the citywide rental rate (41 percent). Fifty-eight percent of residents in the District pay more than 35 percent of their monthly income towards housing costs.

AGE DISTRIBUTION EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates 2013-2017

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HOUSEHOLD HOUSEHOLD INCOME TRENDS

HOUSEHOLD RENTERS VS OWNERS

WASHINGTON DISTRICT WEST SACRAMENTO

Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates 2013-2017

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2.6 EXISTING CONDITIONS Located on the western bank of the Sacramento River between the Tower Bridge and the I Street Bridge, the Washington District has experienced some moderate change in the last couple of decades. For example, the grade-separated State Route 275, which had isolated the Washington District to the south, has been transformed into the at-grade Tower Bridge Gateway, opening connections and access to other parts of the city and Sacramento.

Two landmark office buildings, the Ziggurat and CALSTRS, built in 1998 and 2009 respectively, have served as iconic anchors along the riverfront. The area is also home to Raley’s Supermarket headquarters, which is the largest family-owned company in the greater Sacramento region. Sutter Health Park (known formerly as Raley Field) is located to the south of the Washington District, and has been attracting visitors from the region since its opening in 2000.

The Washington District also features an eclectic mix of other land uses and building forms. It houses the City’s oldest buildings and some of its most established residential neighborhoods, including the Historic District, a collection of late 19th century and View of CALSTRS and Ziggurat from the River Walk Capitol Yards early 20th century residences.

A thriving residential, commercial, and entertainment node has taken root at 3rd and C streets. This includes the repurposed Washington Firehouse.

Additionally, a variety of new housing options have been built in the Washington District. The Capitol Yards development, on the north side of Tower Bridge Gateway, offers higher-end apartment living options. Several other residential development projects have also been built in recent years, including the Good Project and Metro Place.

Figure 2-4 shows the existing local context of the Washington District, including important landmarks, the Historic District, and noteworthy residential development projects.

Metro Place

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Figure 2-4: Local Context and Landmarks

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2.7 FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES While redevelopment and deindustrialization have occurred in the Washington District runs along 2nd Street, will be demolished, clearing a path for new infill development over the last several decades, there are several projects in the pipeline and even more opportunities on the riverfront. opportunity on vacant or underutilized sites that will help transform the area into a vibrant urban district. Washington Realized identified an initial inventory of vacant and The Washington Transfer Line, which runs along 8th Street and the western edge of the underutilized parcels that vary in size, shape, and former use. Figure 2-5 shows an Washington District boundary, is the last remaining barrier of development for several updated inventory and highlights future opportunities in the District, along with large opportunity sites in the District, including the former Welcome Grove mobile pending and approved projects. home park and Tower Court. This railroad spur needs to be removed to open up and connect these areas to the rest of Washington and West Sacramento. Other large Plans for the new I Street Bridge replacement will provide a new connection across the opportunity sites in the District include the 5th Street Block at E and F streets, and sites Sacramento River between the Sacramento Railyards and the Washington District. The along E Street. The City’s 2035 General Plan also designated the eastern portion of the new bridge will be multi-modal, serving automobile, bicycle, transit, and pedestrian Iron Triangle north of F Street for future residential use. This area could be a future modes. The lower deck of the existing I Street Bridge will continue to serve as a railroad study area and planned as an extension of the residential neighborhoods in the crossing. Through the I Street Bridge Deck Conversion project, the feasibility of Washington District. converting the upper deck from a vehicle crossing to a bicycle and pedestrian crossing is currently being studied. The approach viaduct to the existing I Street Bridge, which

Source: City of Sacramento Source: ZGF Architects LLP Rendering of the Final I Street Bridge Replacement Planned Phase II CalSTRS Development

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FUTURE STUDY AREA

Figure 2-5: Underutilized Sites and Opportunities

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