Banking on bungalows: Sacramento County hopes to draw investor money by demolishing former U.S. Air Force housing site

A cure for a blighted area is how county officials are describing the recently approved destruction of the Mather Field Bungalows.

The 40 studio apartment-style units have stood on Bleckely Street since the 1940s, originally built for U.S. Air Force personnel. On July 25, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to approve a plan to demolish the bungalows by September, which will cost $302,062 in tax-exempt bond proceeds.

Supervisor Susan Peters abstained from the vote because of property she owns nearby.

In 2005, the bungalows were used to temporarily house relocated Hurricane Katrina survivors. Even then, the buildings were falling into disrepair, said county Program Manager Clark Whitten. The bungalows were most recently used as a location to train guide dogs for the blind.

“We did what we could with them,” Whitten said.

Whitten said the bungalows are now an irreparable hazard—blighted with vandalism and filled with squatters.

When asked if the county considered fixing up the bungalows as an emergency shelter for the homeless—rather than an unofficial one for squatters—Whitten stressed the units are uninhabitable and infested with mold. Even if money were no object, he said, the bungalows are beyond repair.

So why did it take so long to approve demolition?

Whitten said the county initially wanted to secure an “end user” to develop the property before moving forward with destruction. But officials changed their minds as the bungalows continued to deteriorate and offers proved scarce. Now they’re hoping the demolition will make the land more attractive to investors.

“It puts it in a better position to attract a business to come there and buy the land and create jobs,” Whitten said. “We’re providing an opportunity to create jobs.”