Downtown Sacramento business owners raise concerns over police responses to Saint Clare building

CBS News

15 hours ago

Some downtown Sacramento business owners are fed up with a building they say police keep getting called out to.
The building in question is Saint Clare on 9th and L St. It was formerly the Capitol Park Hotel that was flipped into permanent supportive housing for the homeless. It opened in 2024, and some downtown business owners say it has become a nuisance.
"When you see these folks suffering on the street, you wish you could allocate the dollars you have in a smarter way," said the CEO of Region Business and downtown developer John Vignocchi.
He is calling on more services for the homeless to mitigate the number of calls to the Sacramento Police Department.
"They spent so much money on renovating this historic property that they don't have a lot of capital left over for services," said Vignocchi.
A downtown business owner requested public records from the Sacramento Police Department that shared the data with Vignocchi.
The data reveals that about 10% of calls in the J, K and L corridor of downtown between 7th and 13th streets came from Saint Clare in the first half of 2025.
The calls were about three to four times more than other businesses in the area, like the 7-Eleven on J Street.
The most recent call to Saint Clare came on Wednesday morning when residents were woken up to swat when an armed suspect barricaded himself inside a unit.
"When you got a high volume of calls for service, something's up," said Sacramento City Councilman for District 4 Phil Pluckebaum. "So that gives us an opportunity to respond. There's opportunity for improvement."
Pluckebaum represents downtown but was not in office when the city spent $20.3 million to flip the hotel into housing for the homeless. He is suggesting solutions, such as more resources for dispute resolution, crisis and trauma counseling and services for people's pets.
He said the reality is that those services will come with a cost, saying the city needs more money to accomplish serving the homeless better.
"Maybe summertime being warm, folks having less clothes," said Jenny Davison, CEO of Davison Consulting and Design and COO of Capitol Events Center. "That's a situation that's been happening."
Davison said she is tired of seeing people doing drugs, trespassing and having to pay for increased security.
The Sacramento Police Department said it is aware of the high number of calls it keeps getting at Saint Clare and that the bike unit is working with the District Attorney's Office to address the issues.
"An active investigation is currently underway, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities," said Mercy Housing, the group that runs Saint Clare. "At this time, we are unable to provide additional details. The safety and well-being of residents and staff is always our top priority."