![\"Andres](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788501972_601_7f80c78e-353f-4c2e-838e-7fbe893dfa94_1721668549.png\")
<\/a>SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014<\/p>\nA plan to revitalize downtown Suisun City is moving forward after the city transferred three properties to California Forever, the billionaire-backed developer pursuing a much larger project in Solano County.<\/p>\n
The properties include 707 Main St. and two downtown parking lots. The transaction is the first part of a $1.5 million purchase agreement that also includes the adjacent historic Lawler House and Suisun Harbor Theatre, both of which closed during the 2010s.<\/p>\n
City officials said the redevelopment could bring businesses, housing and entertainment to waterfront properties that have been vacant or underused for years.<\/p>\n
Empty storefronts, aging buildings and quiet streets currently define parts of downtown despite its waterfront location.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t really come down here because of the homeless situation or the drug situation or things like that,\u201d said Richie Kalsi, who frequents the area.<\/p>\n
Kalsi pointed to the shuttered Suisun Harbor Theatre as an example of the area\u2019s vacant properties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an unutilized movie theater right here. It\u2019s abandoned. There\u2019s a lot of abandoned spaces here,\u201d Kalsi said. \u201cSo, to bring vibrancy and progression and dynamism to an area would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suisun City Manager Bret Prebula said some downtown properties have gone unused for at least a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re eyesores,\u201d Prebula said. \u201cThey\u2019re deterrents to the businesses that are trying to thrive near them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the deal, California Forever has completed its purchase of 707 Main St. and the two parking lots. The city will lease the lots back for $1 per year, allowing them to remain available for public parking while redevelopment plans move forward.<\/p>\n
Prebula said California Forever has committed to protecting established downtown businesses from displacement as it develops its plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have made a commitment to not gentrify any of the key businesses that we have downtown,\u201d Prebula said.<\/p>\n
The city views the private investment as a way to redevelop properties it has been unable to revive on its own, Prebula said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe essentially now are going to have a player that\u2019s funded enough to be able to revitalize things that have sat dead for, like I said, almost a decade,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The sale has drawn mixed reactions. Some local business owners told KCRA 3 off camera that they oppose selling downtown property to California Forever. Other people, including Kalsi, said private investment may be necessary when public resources are limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the state resources aren\u2019t there, maybe it does take private owners and private billionaires and private citizens to band together and say, \u2018OK, we see a need, an opportunity. Let\u2019s fix things,\u2019\u201d Kalsi said.<\/p>\n
Any major changes remain years away. Prebula said the project could go before the Suisun City Planning Commission in late 2027 or early 2028.<\/p>\n
The downtown redevelopment is separate from California Forever\u2019s larger proposal to expand Suisun City, according to Prebula. He said the developer\u2019s downtown obligations would remain in place even if the broader expansion proposal is not approved. <\/p>\n
See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Suisun City transfers downtown properties to California Forever as part of revitalization plan SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 A plan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[14852,7,9,8,178988,178989,26177,5963],"class_list":["post-453021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-andres-valle","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-califronia-forever","tag-downtown-suisun-city","tag-fields","tag-suisun-city"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453021","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=453021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}