SUISUN CITY — Things are starting to look up in Suisun City.
A brightening economy and a recently passed sales tax measure is giving the town the funds it needs to make life better for its residents.
This is allowing the city leaders to finally polish the jewel that they have long believed Suisun City to be.
There is increasing development interest in several of its long-vacant parcels north of downtown and along Walters Road. They city may soon see the first new land annexation in some time, 355 acres on the city’s east side.
City leaders are hoping that economic development will further boost the city’s economic and job creation fortunes.
Measure S, passed last year, has the city planning to improve public safety with more police, more street repair and lay the groundwork to dredge the Marina and Whispering Bay next year.
The town, with a population of nearly 30,000, is also getting the fiscal and shopping benefits of the Walmart off Highway 12 that opened two years ago.
An alliance of local and regional performing arts groups now offer performances at the Harbor Theatre on Main Street and the historic train depot wrapped up its facelift recently.
Suisun City is also home to the Lawler House Gallery, a Kroc Center operated by The Salvation Army, a history museum and a bevy of live outdoor entertainment in the summer.
The city dates back to 1850 when Josiah Wing, a schooner captain, found an island in the Suisun Marsh and built a wharf and warehouse there. It soon became the major agriculture shipping point for the farms and orchards in the Suisun Valley and Green Valley areas.
A train depot was built. Suisun City was bustling with several hotels along Main Street.
Fairfield was the smaller of the two towns. That changed with World War II, the construction of what’s now Travis Air Force Base and Interstate 80. Suisun City’s growth tapered off.
Tough years followed. In the early 1980s, a survey of San Francisco Bay Area communities called the town the least attractive place to live in the area, which spurred then-Mayor Jim Spering to take on an ambitious redevelopment effort.
Waterfront properties were redeveloped and the crime-ridden Crescent neighborhood was razed and replaced with a Victorian-style development. Improvements continued with the construction of a senior center, community center and library.
Suisun City’s new face earned it accolades such as Sactown magazine’s description of it as “a sweet and delightfully surprising vacation spot.”
Its downtown is still a work in progress with a good population of restaurants, small businesses and a marina. Some, such as Right Eye Brewing Company, are expanding.
The Kroc Center, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, is home to community events as well as offering a place for worship and workouts.
The city hosts many events, including Christmas on the Waterfront and Fourth of July fireworks. During the summer, there are free movies on Saturday nights and jazz concerts Sunday afternoons.
Suisun City is also aggressively promoting itself as a recreation destination for fishermen and hunters going to the Suisun Marsh as well as paddle boarders and kayakers.
Earlier this year, the waterfront added a new floating boutique hotel, the vessel Barkissimo, which is tied up at the city’s visitor’s dock.
One of its best-kept secrets may be the Suisun Wildlife Center, which is home to a variety of wildlife. Some residents will call it home forever. Others are there with hopes of being released back into their native habitat.
The 2015 census estimated Suisun City’s population at 29,492. About 38 percent of its residents are white, 24 percent Latino, 20 percent black and 19 percent Asian. Its median household income is about $71,306.
Suisun City at a glance
- City Hall: 701 Civic Center Blvd.
- Website: www.suisun.com
- City manager: Suzanne Bragdon. Reach at 421-7300. [email protected]
- Mayor: Pete Sanchez. Elected 2006, term expires 2018. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilwoman: Jane Day. Elected 1986, term expires 2018. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Mike Hudson. Elected 2006, term expires 2018. Reach at [email protected]
- Councilman: Mike Segala. Elected 1992, term expires 2020. Reach at [email protected]
- Mayor Pro Tem: Lori Wilson. Elected 2012, term expires 2020. Reach at [email protected]
