Bringing Life to Central Cities
Sacramento Downtown
When DHA began work in downtown Sacramento in 1985, the area was boarded and dangerous to visit, a virtual "no man's land", and a city in crisis. The streetscape master plan and its implementation of more than 200 projects through a city sponsored Block Grant Loan program transformed the area. Project budgets ranged from $5000 to $50 million for retail, office, housing, restaurants and entertainment buildings.
DHA works with property owners and tenants, introducing the public to the powerful notion that a modest investment in the environment can bring positive returns. This inspires participation, orchestrates the approvals and produces a momentum that has a powerful effect on bringing investments into downtown Sacramento.
DHA’s design drawings provide a sense of hope for economic viability for the area. The key is to find creative, inexpensive design solution through discovering and exploiting best features of each building, while improving it and completing it within the established budget.
Inspiring the disadvantaged and the homeless to help themselves and become a productive part of the society at the “grassroots” levels, DHA is instrumental in stimulating reinvestment into the urban area. Through this effort, the public witnesses a total transformation of Sacramento.