Sacramento fire officials share update on blaze that gutted Broadway affordable housing project

Ishani Desai
·2 min read
2

The Sacramento Fire Department said Wednesday the cause behind a devastating fire that gutted a promising affordable housing and retail development last month on Broadway remains undetermined.

A conflagration tore through a portion of the On Broadway Apartments project at 19th and X streets, sending black smoke spewing March 26 into the capital city’s skyline.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Justin Sylvia said Wednesday arson investigators combed through hours of footage from at least 13 cameras and couldn’t see any “human activity at all around the time of the fire.” Firefighters had arrived to smoke clouding the scene about 1 a.m. March 26 while returning back to their station from an unrelated call.

He added there was electrical equipment near where the fire started, but there wasn’t enough evidence to show it caused the blaze.

“There’s no evidence on our end that indicates this was a criminal act,” Sylvia said.

Intense heat from the fire at the $94 million housing project warped traffic lights nearby and damaged cars parked across the road on X Street, Sylvia said previously.

Local elected officials lauded the construction as a chance to provide badly needed affordable housing and increase economic vitality to the area. The 140-unit construction promised to earmark 25% of units for homeless residents, according to The Sacramento Bee’s previous reporting, some of whom live under freeway overpasses next door.

San Rafael-based developer EAH Housing had planned to turn a lot at the northeast corner of 19th and Broadway into two structures, each a five-story mix of retail and affordable housing units. Construction had begun by July 2023, and was expected to last for 22 months, an EAH spokesperson said previously.

The On Broadway Apartments were set to be a 165,000-square-foot complex that would include 75 single-bedroom units, 25 two-bedroom apartments and 50 three-bedroom units. It would also have both a community center, a “learning center” and 111 long-term bicycle parking stalls, according to The Bee’s previous reporting.

EAH Housing had vowed to restart construction as soon as possible. It did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday about its future plans.