Last night, the City of Sacramento approved the Center for Innovation Specific Plan, charting the course for redevelopment near the Power Inn area of the City.
Already, Sacramento is becoming a prime destination for innovation and green technology. In fact, the Sacramento region has already captured national attention as the 10th largest clean-energy economy in the state of California.
To further support the region’s budding clean-energy economy, the City of Sacramento and its partners are working to create the Sacramento Center for Innovation, a unique environment that will bring together public and private interests to establish and foster leading-edge industries.
To prepare, the City of Sacramento is making a concerted effort to help plan the area by developing a specific plan to help direct how this area will develop in the future.
“There’s tremendous potential to redefine the area given its location,” said Remi Mendoza, a planner with the Community Development Department. “The Center for Innovation will both attract pioneering businesses and foster strong partnerships that nurture innovation, business and further economic growth.”
Envisioned to capitalize on its central location, the geographic focal point of the Sacramento Center for Innovation is the 65th Street area south of California State University, Sacramento, just seven miles east of downtown. The SCI vision is to establish this older industrial area as a future hub for clean, green energy and medical technology.
The 240-acre area has the right mix of attributes to make this vision a reality. The area’s location—near a major university, a regional electric utility, a large healthcare and research facility, California’s Smart Grid Center, and a clean-technology incubator—gives the clean-energy sector direct access to business and scientific innovation, an educated workforce, and proven collaboration.