Sacramento officials approve funding outline for planned project at former Kings’ arena site

Dennis Shanahan
·2 min read
5

(FOX40.COM) — Plans for construction on the former Sleep Train Arena site are one step closer to becoming a reality.

On Tuesday, the Sacramento City Council approved a term sheet that paves the way for the Innovation Park Project, which includes a medical school and other developments on the property in North Natomas.

Many representatives from construction trades and labor unions spoke out in favor of the project during Tuesday’s meeting, saying it will “bring new jobs for people of all nationalities.”

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With a unanimous vote and a round of applause, the council approved a non-binding plan to pay for $75 million of backbone infrastructure around Innovation Park.

The infrastructure money would come in bonds.

Once businesses are opened within the project site, its expected they’ll generate tax dollars to pay off those bonds.

The Sleep Train Arena, which also is famously known as Arco Arena, once hosted Sacramento Kings games and concerts. The site is now overgrown with weeds after the arena was demolished in 2022.

The Innovation Park Project is planned to transform the 183-acre former arena site into a mix of commercial and residential development. The planned development will be anchored by a 730,000-square foot Northstate University teaching hospital.

Sacramento city officials originally approved the project in February 2022.

Around the corner from the large vacant lot are retail shops and restaurants eagerly waiting for foot traffic from the new development. A Costco recently opened nearby the vacant lot.

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“Beneficial to us as a community to have the businesses and houses right next to us,” Carlo Guballa with Tapioca Express said. “It’s good to have another hospital just in general because California and Sacramento is just growing every day.”

California Northstate University president Alvin Cheung said the goal is to break ground on the teaching hospital before the end of 2024. He added he’d like to see the medical school to be completed within four years.

“So it’s a very big step forward in terms of supporting the creation and the construction of the innovation park,” Cheung said.

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