Sentinel staff report–
Latest Letters to the Editor discuss future plans for Sunrise Mall, with one resident supporting a new sports complex, another supporting affordable housing, and another rejecting a mega-homeless-shelter idea presented in a prior letter.
Sports Complex at Sunrise Mall
This is huge, what an excellent idea for the redevelopment of Sunrise Mall! A major Win-Win for the City of Citrus Heights and its residents.
Folsom’s loss will be our gain. Not that I want Folsom to lose, but for whatever reason, a similar project on a much larger scale (almost 2.5 x larger) than our proposed project, is no longer moving forward in Folsom. This is according the developer, ‘The Mettle Shop’.
Talk is cheap though. This is where our City leaders (the City Council) need to do their homework. Why has the Folsom Sports and Entertainment Project stalled? How long has this developer been doing these type of projects? They’d need to show us previous projects of this size that they’ve finished. I know this is just on the ground floor but if we’re going to follow through with a project of this size then we’ll need to get it done right the first time, and not look back a few years down the road saying, “we should have done this or not done that”.
I’m looking forward to attending a minor league hockey game or a classic rock concert in the near future.
–Mark Mitchell, Citrus Heights
Turning the Sunrise Mall into a mega homeless shelter?
I won’t say this is necessarily the best approach. Maybe turning the whole Sunrise Mall area into affordable housing might be better. At least it’s taking the homelessness issue seriously, on the kind of scale that might make a difference. I don’t know when our civic leaders, maybe partnering with the county and neighboring cities, will finally commit the resources needed, but I hope it’s soon
–Kenneth Capps, Citrus Heights
Homeless facility at the Mall? No.
Turning Sunrise Mall into a large-scale homeless housing facility may sound like a simple solution, but it is not a practical or responsible plan for Citrus Heights.
First, concentrating hundreds or even thousands of unhoused individuals in a single abandoned retail complex would create serious safety, management, and infrastructure challenges. Malls are not designed to function as residential housing or treatment facilities. Converting spaces like former department stores into cubicle housing with medical, therapy, and rehabilitation services would require massive reconstruction, long-term operational funding, and specialized staff. It is far more complex and costly than simply filling empty buildings with beds.
Second, large centralized facilities have repeatedly proven to be ineffective at helping people transition out of homelessness. Experts generally agree that smaller, supportive housing programs integrated into communities are far more successful than warehousing people in large institutional settings.
Third, Sunrise Mall represents one of the most important redevelopment opportunities in Citrus Heights. The site has the potential to bring new housing, jobs, businesses, and economic activity to the city. Converting it into a regional homeless hub would likely discourage investment and permanently eliminate the possibility of revitalizing the property in a way that benefits the entire community.
Homelessness is a serious humanitarian issue that deserves thoughtful solutions, but turning a struggling mall into a massive shelter complex is not the answer. Citrus Heights should focus on balanced redevelopment of Sunrise Mall while supporting proven housing and assistance programs throughout the region.
–Linda Mezzanatto, Citrus Heights
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