The North Franklin District Business Association has a complex task on its hands, as detailed in Cosmo Garvin’s latest SNR feature, Mmm, Mmm Good? On the rise and Fall (and rise and fall, again) of an original Sacramento suburb.
Essentially fundless, NFDBA director Marti Brown has teamed up with UC Davis sociologist Jesus Hernandez to bootstrap some revitalization and reconnect the South Sacramento neighborhood to the rest of the city. It would appear the odds are not in their favor – based on a number of factors, including:
- The light rail stop at 47th drops passengers off at the now almost wholly abandoned Campbell soup plant, with no bus transport and a long (often sidewalk-less) walk to anywhere worth going.
- As part of a 1993 deal to keep the Campbell plant from relocating, the county gave the plant back a portion of its property taxes, but as Garvin explains, “that meant millions in taxes that would never be collected by the redevelopment area.”
- Without those tax dollars, North Franklin was not and is not eligible for bonds from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency that would have matched the tax revenue already available for development projects.
Previously proposed and subsequently shot-down projects include a re-entry facility for federal parolees as well as a homeless camp near Fruitridge and Franklin. Despite a long list of stalled and unfinished efforts to bring life back into the area and an almost non-existent budget, Brown and Hernandez see a lot of potential. Franklin is home to a number of long-standing local businesses, has two light-rail stations and plenty of prime developable land close to existing infrastructure
“If you really want to talk about sustainable neighborhoods, here’s one that’s ready to go,” said Hernandez.
Learn more in Garvin’s piece here.
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