Dive Brief:

The Sacramento, CA, City Council this week approved Mayor Kevin Johnson’s plan to build 10,000 new housing units over the next 10 years.

The plan, called “In Downtown,” would add 6,000 “market-rate” apartments and townhomes to the central city, as well as 2,500 affordable housing units and 1,500 transitional homes designated for the homeless, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The city’s focus has shifted to housing after a long-time concentration on the financing and construction of a stadium for the Sacramento Kings basketball arena. The arena will open in fall 2016 and is expected to jump-start the revitalization of downtown Sacramento.

Dive Insight:

The mayor’s housing plan has garnered support from most of the city, yet has created a sort of tug-of-war between homeless advocates and development specialists.

Wendy Saunders, who heads the city’s Capitol Area Development Authority, told the City Council that Sacramento needs more housing for high-wage earners. At the same meeting, Darryl Rutherford, director of the Sacramento Housing Alliance, said the plan doesn’t include a specific strategy for funding the low-income housing. “The devil will be in the details,” he said.

Still, the Bee quoted one homeless advocate saying she is “impressed” with the plan because of its focus on “workforce housing,” which she called “homelessness prevention.”

As part of the effort to bring housing to downtown, the city is simplifying the development process, which it hopes will draw more builders to the central city.