SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The new owners of buildings on a well-known corner of Sacramento's Broadway corridor are experiencing similar problems with public drug use and homelessness that have challenged previous owners.
Cecilia Yi says Sacramento's Broadway corridor is a nice area for shopping and trying different food, however, it wasn't until after she and her husband purchased property at Broadway and 15th Street they started to take note of safety issues.
The two purchased the former Starbucks and Jamba Juice building along with the Walgreens building in January, Yi said.
She started to see negative comments about the area on social media around that time but said it wasn't going to stop her family from trying to improve the corridor by opening a future business.
"My husband has been there every morning making sure everything is cleaned up," Yi said. "Today [he] painted over graffiti and picked up some needles."
The Starbucks and Jamba Juice closed in 2022 as problems increased in the neighborhood.
ABC10 has followed the challenges businesses are facing on Broadway since 2021 when property crime became a major concern for businesses. In 2022, after Starbucks and Jamba Juice closed, people on both sides of the issue clashed at a protest. Businesses didn't see much improvement in 2023 and the city is currently working on improvements to Broadway to make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Yi and her family are franchise owners of multiple School of Rock locations in Carmichael, Elk Grove, Folsom and Roseville, and they planned to open their fifth location at the former Starbucks and Jamba Juice building.
"Friends have asked us why we haven't promoted our upcoming School of Rock in the area yet. It's because kids and families should feel safe coming here and we're hoping to make that happen," Yi said.
Neighborhood advocate Karen Margareta says she's lived in Sacramento since 1996 and has seen the Broadway corridor increase in homelessness and open-air drug use.
She noticed an uptick in homeless residents along Broadway since the Hope Cooperative CORE mental health and wellness center opened last year.
"Maybe it's a good change for the unhoused in the area during the day, but prior to and after, that place has become much worse," Margareta said.
Hope Cooperative CEO April Ludwig told ABC10 she and her team believe they are impacting change on a community level by providing space for homeless residents to show up as their 'authentic selves.'
"The individuals we work with often struggle with mental health concerns, substance use and are often experiencing homelessness. Helping individuals get their basic needs met is often where our services begin with the hope that when they are ready, additional services to support daily functioning and long-term outcomes will be available," she said. "We know that establishing a new initiative takes time to settle into the fabric of any community."
Margareta says she and her neighbors have been unsuccessful in getting local elected officials to decrease crime and homelessness in the area.
Sacramento city councilmember Katie Valenzuela, who represents the district, says a new incident team works to resolve 311 calls on a daily basis and there are no substantial issues in the corridor.
"That team works in partnership with the county, who delivers all mental health and substance abuse services in the community," Valenzuela said in a statement. "We just last year successfully worked with the County to open a new CORE Center on X and 14th to address needs in the area, operated by HOPE Cooperative."
Margareta is frustrated.
"We do our best to communicate to our council that we want our community clean. The police have been very responsive, Katie hasn't," Margareta said. "Police here show up after hours to offer ideas and support for our residents, but at the same time their hands are strapped by the law."
Incoming District 4 Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum told ABC10 he met with constituents throughout his campaign about their safety concerns, and even now as councilmember-elect.
Despite the issues, Yi says she hopes her family is able to open by fall 2024 with safer surroundings.
"We're not a big chain that owns a gazillion stores, we're family business owners. Our location needs to be safe, it needs to be clean. We can't have our kids walking all over garbage," she said.
