Stantec to Lead Old Sacramento Waterfront Revitalization Effort

Sacramento, CA – In an exciting move to revitalize the beloved Old Sacramento Waterfront, the City of Sacramento recently announced plans to reimagine the City’s historic business district and its riverfront. Stantec—a global architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and consulting firm with 400 offices and more than 22,000 staff worldwide (including 200 staff and two offices in the City of Sacramento)—will be leading the project, providing architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, environmental and cultural resources, and program management. The Destination Sacramento Program will significantly enhance this signature area of California’s capitol city for residents and visitors. 

The Destination Sacramento Program is comprised of three major projects:

• Front Street Experience – Stantec’s project team will work with the City to develop an interactive experience to help connect iconic Front Street to the Sacramento River. The Front Street Experience will feature a two-story market building (with a terrace for public gatherings); an interactive, signature water feature; an event lawn (with ample space for City events, outdoor concerts, and public meet ups); and a “calliope,” a multi-generational “play” experienceStantec is partnering with Atlas Design for landscape architecture, WET Design for fountain design, and The Hettema Group on the interactive experience design.
• History Museum Event Deck – Stantec will work in conjunction with the Sacramento History Museum’s architect, Craig Hausman, on the design of a signature museum event deck, offering iconic views of the river, the downtown skyline, and West Sacramento. The newest addition to the cherished museum devoted to Sacramento and the Gold Rush history will serve as a social gathering spot and a space for private events. Stantec will partner with The Hettema Group for experiential design.
• River Terrace – Located on the Sacramento River, the river terrace will include an interactive multi-purpose recreation space where visitors and residents can engage with the Sacramento River via a network of floating terraces.

The Old Sacramento Waterfront is a 28-acre national historic landmark and state historic park that preserves an 1850s Gold Rush-era waterfront, complete with sailing vessels, paddle wheelers, original commercial buildings, and boardwalks—all coming together to create a historic atmosphere. The waterfront marked the starting point of the Central Pacific Railroad’s construction to the east, designed to meet the Union Pacific. The Old Sacramento Waterfront is also home to numerous unique events throughout the year, including the Theater of Lights during the holiday season. It hosts several historic events each year, including the 150^th commemoration of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 2019, which took place this past May.

Stantec’s award-winning national landscape architecture practice and waterfront design experts will collaborate with the firm’s Sacramento-based architects, landscape architects, architectural historians, engineers, environmental scientists, and wildlife biologists. Supporting the local team is the firm’s Urban Places Group, which includes nationally and internationally recognized leaders from a variety of disciplines, recognized for landmark projects throughout North America. 

“Sacramento is a city rich with culture and history,” said Brian Crilly, Stantec architect, design lead, and lifelong Sacramentan. “We are passionate about improving communities. Working on a project of this magnitude—that truly serves California’s capitol, its residents, and visitors—is a dream come true. We look forward to getting underway and enhancing a city that we are proud to live and work in.”

About Stantec

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That’s why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. We care about the communities we serve—because they’re our communities too. This allows us to assess what’s needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what’s never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success. We’re designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

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