Sacramento, California: Council Votes 8-0 to Expand Railyards Financing District to 238 Acres

SACRAMENTO, California. The Sacramento City Council voted 8 to 0 on Tuesday to expand the Railyards financing district to 238 acres, a step city leaders say will speed a major redevelopment effort and add dedicated money for affordable housing.

The vote expands the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District the city first created around the stadium site in 2019. The city will set aside its share of future property tax growth inside the district to pay for streets, sewers and other public work.

The numbers behind the vote

The city projects the expanded district will bring in about $825 million over 50 years, through June 2077, The Sacramento Bee reported. More than $200 million in public improvements are still needed, the city says.

The Railyards covers 244 acres north of downtown. The city's 2016 plan allows up to 10,000 housing units, but fewer than 500 homes have been built since the city approved a redevelopment plan in 1994. The city counts 495 completed units, including 219 affordable, with more than 730 more in development.

Under the agreement the council approved, the district first pays back the developers and the city for costs they cover up front. The stadium developer, Indomitable Ventures, would get about $45 million for work around the stadium. The lead developer, Downtown Railyard Venture, could get up to $50 million for public improvements, including work at the historic Central Shops. The city would get about $14 million, mostly for land near Sacramento Valley Station.

After those costs, 25 percent of the remaining revenue goes to affordable housing, $179.7 million in all by 2077. The rest, about $539 million, could pay for parks and other public projects. The city notes the district creates no new tax and does not pay for construction of the stadium itself.

A second try after residents stopped the first

The plan is a restart. The council approved an earlier expansion in June 2025, but residents of the A.J. apartment complex and the Wong Center, backed by the union Unite Here Local 49, pressed for more affordable housing and formally objected in numbers large enough under state law to stop it. The Railyards Public Financing Authority dropped that plan on July 22, 2025.

The map approved Tuesday leaves both complexes outside the proposed district. The new plan also raises the affordable housing share by five percentage points, which the city projects will provide about $36 million more for housing over the life of the district.

What was said at City Hall

Nancy Williams, who lives in an affordable apartment at the A.J., asked the council to put off the vote until the city could secure more affordable housing, a grocery store and a fund to help tenants stay in their homes, the Bee reported.

Wilton Rancheria, the majority owner of Sacramento Republic FC, broke ground on the stadium weeks after last year's expansion failed and has since raised the planned capacity from 12,000 seats to more than 20,000. "We kept our promise to Sacramento and now we're asking you to keep yours," tribal Chairman Jesus Tarango told the council, according to the Bee. Republic FC expects to open the stadium in 2028.

Mayor Kevin McCarty called the Railyards the largest urban infill development in the United States and said the financing tool will support the infrastructure the neighborhood needs while raising the affordable housing commitment to 25 percent. Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum, who represents the district, said the Railyards housing goals will not be achieved without the district.

The council directed city staff to develop a local investment strategy and report back by the end of January.

Not final yet

The expansion still needs approval from the Railyards Public Financing Authority. That board is scheduled to hold a public hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 1 at City Hall to consider the expansion and take public input.