Sacramento, California is undergoing housing growth and a downtown renaissance, which may be accelerated with the forthcoming Railyards development. | Jeff Hook

It?s roughly eight times larger than New York?s Hudson Yards, this year?s big-ticket megadevelopment Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has a long history with the city?s Railyards, an expanse of rail lines and brick buildings that was once the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad. Shortly after Steinberg started his political career in city council in 1992, he remembers being shown elaborate models of the homes and offices that would soon fill the 244-acre space. In the 2000s, when he served as a member of the State Assembly, he remembers Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chiding him??Hey, Steiny, what are you going to do about those railyards!??and reminding him that the former Union Pacific property was the first thing visitors saw when driving in from the airport. ?We can do better,? the governor added. For decades, this vast site has remained underutilized, requiring environmental mediation? locomotives were maintained, repaired, and cleaned in these lots after criss-crossing the continent?and extensive capital and vision. But with a number of headlining projects and big-name investors lined up, the Railyards may finally be leaving the station.
?It was always a ?wouldn?t it be great? project, but now it?s a ?look what we?re actually doing? project,? says Steinberg. ?Only now are we beginning to ...