Sacramento Project ‘Almost a City in Itself’
The western terminus of the first transcontinental railroad is a forlorn place these days. All that is left of the historic railyards are seven immense brick buildings, the remnants of an era when this site was the busiest industrial center in northern California. There is little indication yet of a $5.3 billion redevelopment plan to transform the site.
But the old railroad buildings are expected to come back to life as the retail portion of a huge project called the Sacramento Railyards. In the next 20 years, the developer Thomas Enterprises, based in Newnan, Ga., plans to build up to 12,000 residential units, 800,000 square feet of commercial space, scattered small parks, a railroad history museum and a performing arts center.
The ambitious housing plans reflect the anticipated growth of Sacramento, a city of 481,097 people that is expecting 100,000 new residents in the next 20 years. . . .