SUISUN CITY — Suisun City faces a range of opportunities that would not have been possible a few years ago.
Suisun City Manager Suzanne Bragdon, in her last state of the city address earlier this year, said that “a lot of transitions, a lot of great things are happening in Suisun City.”
Recent passage of the Measure S sales tax measure and the improvement of the economy has given Suisun City more funds to aim at city priorities such as fixing streets and improving public safety.
Measure S was expected to bring in $1.8 million dollars in sales tax revenue, but ended up generating $2.4 million.
Bragdon said the funds will allow Suisun City to better stabilize its core with money going to a new fire engine, road maintenance, storm drain repair, marina dredging and spending on staff needs.
Suisun City’s waterfront will be getting better visibility with the iconic sign facing Highway 12 planned for Spring Street this summer.
The success of the city’s first hotel has spawned plans to build a second one next door with the groundbreaking expected in June, according to Bragdon.
The SoDoL Coffee tasting house is coming to Suisun City and the city has also signed a lease agreement with a developer to open up The Canteen @ Train Depot cafe within two months.
Residential development will see former Suisun City manager-turned-developer Camran Nojoomi build the WestWind luxury residences on land at the south end of Civic Center Boulevard.
The city is also moving forward with developing several parcels of vacant land such as a major area on Suisun City’s east side around Peterson Road and a 30-acre parcel north of Highway 12 and west of Marina Boulevard.
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.
Developers are again expressing interested in buying several old buildings and vacant parcels in the city’s old town for development.
The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center 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 has long considered itself a recreation destination for fishermen and hunters going to the Suisun Marsh as well as paddle boarders and kayakers.
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: yet to be hired
- 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]
