Shingle Springs Band Of Miwok Indians Buys City Block At 301 Capitol Mall In Downtown Sacramento

The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians bought an entire city block on Sacramento’s Capitol Mall, the grassy avenue with landmarks the Tower Bridge and the state Capitol on either end.

The tribe bought the land at 301 Capitol Mall for $17 million from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has held the property since 2006, when there was a proposal to develop two 53-story buildings on the site.

“This sale is in the best interest of our members and our portfolio,” said CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost, in a news release. “While we would have taken pride in the successful development of 301 Capitol Mall, we have a fiduciary duty to our members, and selling is the right decision.”

The idea for the twin residential and hotel towers fizzled with the real estate downturn and recession caused by the international banking crisis. The site work on the property did get started, however, and the plies necessary for 53-story buildings are driven into bedrock.

The tribe has no immediate plans for the property, which is part of its ancestral homeland, said spokeswoman Kim Stoll. The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians owns and operates Red Hawk Resort + Casino on Highway 50 east of Sacramento.

“This site is located near the tribe’s original village of Pusúune in downtown Sacramento,” said Chairwoman Regina Cuellar, in a news release. “The land is part of the foundation of our existence. It is where our ancestors lived and flourished.”

“By reacquiring our ancestral lands, we’re reclaiming our history, our traditions and a deeper connection to our ancestors,” Cuellar said. “This re-acquisition is a testament to the enduring spirit and resilience of our people and solidifies our status as the original inhabitants of the Sacramento region.”

While the tribe doesn’t have any immediate plans for the land, it is not closing the door on any ideas for the future, said Dustin Murray, tribal administrator and vice chairman of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Development Corp.

The tribe already bought land near one of its ancestral villages on the Sacramento River at Verona, and this land at Third Street and Capitol Mall is just downriver from the tribe’s other village site at the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, Murray said.

Turton Commercial Real Estate represented CalPERS in the sale of the property, specifically brokers Ken Turton, Scott Kingston and Matt Axford.

“It might be the premier piece of land in Sacramento. It’s on Capitol Mall. It’s the first thing you see when you come off the Tower Bridge, and it’s near DoCo, the Golden 1 Center and Old Sacramento,” said Turton.

CalPERS invested in 301 Capitol Mall in 2006 with local developer John Saca to build two 53-story high-rise residential towers.

They would have been the tallest residential towers on the West Coast. The project was stopped in its tracks by the Great Recession. CalPERS earlier this year said it was pausing its marketing for the site.