{"id":271349,"date":"2026-04-16T20:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271349\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:39:10","slug":"san-juan-apartments-under-construction-in-south-sacramento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/271349\/","title":{"rendered":"San Juan Apartments under construction in south Sacramento"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is still work to be done at the San Juan Apartments<\/a>, under construction near Fruitridge Road and Stockton Boulevard in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Families will begin moving in June into the affordable housing complex, which is being built by Mutual Housing California. Before then, the pool needs to be filled. Landscaping remains to be finished. And the sign of the former San Juan Motel, which once occupied the site, will be installed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

But one thing that\u2019s already clear: The site has come a long way from when it was a haven for illegal dumping and an encampment for people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n

Sacramento City Councilmember Eric Guerra, who district includes part of the site, was among those who gathered there Wednesday to celebrate Health Net\u2019s contribution of $1 million to the project and another $2 million to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, or SACOG, which helped fund the first phase of construction with its Green Means Go program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge success,\u201d Guerra said. \u201cIt\u2019s taking what was a place of despair to a place of dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

What used to be on site<\/p>\n

A display at Wednesday\u2019s event chronicled the history of the San Juan Motel.<\/p>\n

The motel was once part of a thriving corridor between Stockton and Sacramento before it was bypassed by Highway 99. The 1960s relocation of the California State Fairgrounds to Cal Expo also played a role in the motel\u2019s decline, with the display noting that the motel had formerly done \u201cbrisk business\u201d when the fairgrounds were nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the years, the place went to seed,\u201d The Sacramento Bee wrote in 2010, when the motel was demolished. \u201cThere were complaints of exposed wiring, cockroach infestations and a lack of hot water in some rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The The sign for the San Juan Motel stands along Stockton Boulevard in 2001. ANNE CHADWICK WILLIAMS Sacramento Bee file <\/p>\n

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency had acquired the building in 2008 and relocated its residents before tearing it down.<\/p>\n

The land sat vacant for years, with Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s deputies clearing a homeless encampment in 2019. Advocates tried unsuccessfully later that year to turn the land into a safe ground camping site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Guerra said he worked with former state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, on a 2018 bill that allowed SHRA to sell the property below market value provided it was then used for affordable housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Craig Adelman, CEO of the nonprofit Mutual Housing California, credited SHRA with helping catalyze the project and choosing to work with his organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are always looking for opportunities just like this \u2013 not only infill, which is why SACOG is here \u2013 because this is smart growth,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cIt\u2019s really critical that we invest resources in these corridors where there\u2019s existing infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A A foundation stands ready Wednesday for the vintage San Juan Motel sign, which is planned for installation at the San Juan Apartments on Monday. GRAHAM WOMACK gwomack@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

One hurdle for project leaders to clear was that the Sacramento city boundary runs through the middle of the site, which sits on multiple parcels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had two jurisdictions for planning, for public works,\u201d said David Mogavero of Mogavero Architects, which designed San Juan Apartments. \u201cFortunately, it was relegated to the city Fire Department, so we only had one fire department to deal with. Two different building departments, two different transportation departments. And all of that required a lot of coordination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConstruction-wise, this is fairly simple stuff,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Phase I of the project includes 39 one-bedroom, 40 two-bedroom and 34 three-bedroom units. They are targeted for people making 30% to 60% of area median income, which was $120,800 for a Sacramento County family of four in 2025.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A A kitchen in a unit at the San Juan Apartments on Wednesday. GRAHAM WOMACK gwomack@sacbee.com What comes next<\/p>\n

Phase II of the San Juan Apartments will include 70 units of senior housing according to Mia Lopez, a SACOG spokesperson.<\/p>\n

More opportunities for development could exist nearby on Stockton Boulevard, which boasts a number of vacant parcels that the city has long been interested in developing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to build more housing along the commercial corridors,\u201d Guerra said.<\/p>\n

Mogavero said the project was \u201cvery replicable,\u201d but funding is a potential hurdle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with affordable housing is that we don\u2019t have enough money,\u201d Mogavero said, noting that a bond on the November ballot could help.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 9:00 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Graham Womack<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Graham Womack is a general assignment reporter for The Sacramento Bee. Prior to joining The Bee full-time in September 2025, he freelanced for the publication for several years. His work has won several California Journalism Awards and spurred state legislation.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is still work to be done at the San Juan Apartments, under construction near Fruitridge Road and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-271349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}