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SITE NAVIGATION

Housing

Small Developer Incubator Program

Housing

Small Developer Incubator Program

The City of Sacramento is partnering with two innovative non-profit organizations to pilot a Small Developer Incubator Program in 2025. The goals of this program are to create a network of developers and contractors who are invested in the economic health and vitality of local Sacramento neighborhoods and build local capacity to develop smaller-scale housing solutions to address California’s housing shortage.

The program is funded by a grant from the California Housing Systems Innovators Network’s Build it Green, a nonprofit working to change California’s housing system to better serve human and ecological vitality. Additionally, the City is contributing funding from the Neighborhood Development Action Team (NDAT). NDAT uses a community-centered approach to revitalization with a focus on racial equity and is funded through Measure U.

The project is led in partnership with PLACE Initiative (PLACE), a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to provide differentiated, place-based implementation tools and strategies that support the integration of environmental, social, built, and economic systems to advance equitable climate solutions for all communities. The program also includes trainings by the Incremental Development Alliance (IncDev) who leads trainings nationwide to aspiring developers through educational workshops and mentorship to help them take the first steps toward their small-scale real estate development projects.

Line of shovels standing upright in the foreground of a construction site

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Upcoming events

Learn about upcoming events and register to attend.

Small Developer Academy Flyer, Text reads: Small Developer Incubator Pilot Program. Planning a development project in Sacramento? Learn from City staff about tips for success in zoning an dproject submittals, site plan and design review, plan review process, and inspections. Hybrid event! August 29, 2025 9am to 11:45am at Historic City Hall 915 I Street room 201.

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Learn from City staff to set your project up for success! Register here!

City of Sacramento Small Developer Academy [HYBRID EVENT]

August 29, 2025, 9:30am - 11:45am
In Person Location: 915 I St, Sacramento CA - Historic City Hall Hearing Room 201
Online Attendance Link
Zoom Meeting ID: 828 4154 4200

Are you a small developer, homeowner, or project manager planning to build in Sacramento? Join us for a Small Developer Academy, designed to demystify the development process from initial inquiry to final inspection. Whether you're pursuing an ADU, a small residential project, or just exploring your options, this session will walk you through every critical step.

Topics to be covered:

Zoning & Project Submittals
Site Plan & Design Review (SPDR)
Building Submittals 
Plan Review Process 
Inspections 101

This event includes Q&A throughout. Bring your questions and get actionable answers from City staff.

Who Should Attend: Small developers, builders, architects, homeowners, and anyone planning to submit a development project in Sacramento.

Small Developer Boot Camp

TBD 2025, 2 consecutive days in-person (12-16 hours) or virtual (4 weeks, 3-hour sessions)

The City will be working with the Local Host Committee and its partners to find sponsors and other funding to hold a boot camp as well as provide for ongoing bi-yearly training events. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please contact gsoos@cityofsacramento.org.

See the Small Developer Boot Camp Informational Flyer for more information.

Check back often for more upcomng events! Sign up here to receive updates in your inbox.

Past events

Small Developer Incubator Program Kick-off and Free Introductory Lecture

February 5, 2025 | 6-8 PM
Pannell Community Center Multipurpose Room
2450 Meadowview Road Sacramento, CA 95832

The City hosted a networking event followed by an information session to describe the pilot Small Developer Incubator Program and upcoming training opportunities. The purpose was to share what will be learned at future trainings, answer questions, and gauge interest. Faculty will introduce attendees to the core concepts of Incremental Development and enable networking between future cohort members and the development community at large.

Attendance is free; however, registration is encouraged.

Small Development Workshop

March 8, 2025 | 9 AM – 5 PM
Oak Park Commiunity Center
3425 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95817

Small scale, incremental development is a tested approach to cost-effectively preserving existing buildings, strengthening their blocks, and improving the financial fundamentals of their contexts over time. This 8-hour in-person class explains the processes and concepts a small developer encounters in a project in a manner that is accessible to private, public and non-profit audiences.

This is considered a baseline training which will be open to the public, and available for those at all levels/professions.

The session is proposed to include the following major sections/elements:

Power of the Incremental Approach
Business Models and Skill Sets
Right Sizing Your Project
Building Arts 101
Market Research and Site Selection
Zoning Project
Pro Formas
Using & Implementing Sacramento’s Code
Financing a Project/Asking for Money
Buying a Property/Due Diligence

Attendance will be limited.

Locally-based scholarships are available for the workshop. Please take a look at the scholarship application here. The application window will remain open until February 21, 2025, and scholarship recipients will be notified on a rolling basis

Sacramento Small Developer Networking Mixer

April 1, 2025 | 6-8 PM
Bike Dog Brewing East Sac
1210 66th St, Sacramento, CA 95819

As a way to support the local small developer community and workshop cohort, the City of Sacramento is organized a free in-person networking event for the small development community (not hosted). Small developers and professionals from adjacent fields attended and connected with potential project partners, lenders, suppliers, mentors, and like-minded individuals working toward a common goal!

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Sacramento Small Developer Incubator Networking Mixer, a free event organized by the City of Sacramento.

Small Developer Open House

June 3, 2025 | 3-5 PM
300 Richards Blvd, Room 221
Sacramento CA 95811

Are you a new or emerging developer? Do you have a small-scale development project in the works? The City would like to invite you to participate in an Open House. In an effort to lower the bar for entry to small developers and provide streamlined City services, the Community Development Department is piloting an open house concept for small developers. Participants will be able to meet with City staff representatives from the following Departments and Divisions: Planning, Building, Development Engineering, Public Works, and Utilities. Come with questions, leave with answers!

The City would like to invite you to participate in an Open House. In an effort to lower the bar for entry to small developers and provide streamlined City services, the Community Development Department is piloting an open house concept for small developers. Participants will be able to meet with City staff representatives from the following Departments and Divisions: Planning, Building, Development Engineering, Public Works, and Utilities. Come with questions, leave with answers! Please RSVP here: bit.ly/SmallDev1

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The Community Development Department is piloting an open house concept for small developers. RSVP here

Lender Open House

July 24, 2025 | 5-8pm
Hagginwood Community Center

The City hosted an open house and panel discussion event aimed at:

Convening lenders who are working with our development community to share best practices and inspire innovation.
Connecting small developers with lenders who have the right product for them.
Providing clear information on what a small developer needs to know to obtain the right product which will meet their needs.

Attendees were able to meet lenders at tables and participate in an interactive panel presentation and discussion on available development funding programs and lending best practices. Any lender who wanted to join was invited to have a table and/or contribute to a directory of lenders who serve small developers. The below directory includes the list of lenders who voluntarily contributed their information. It is meant to be a resource for the Small Developer Incubator Pilot Program to show some of the range of lenders and loan products available to small developers. Potential borrowers are encouraged to ask questions and consider what works best for their situation.

It is not a comprehensive list nor does the City endorse any of the listed lenders. If you know of any lenders who would want to be included, please contact Elizabeth Boyd at eboyd@cityofsacramento.org.

LENDER DIRECTORY

Connect

Sign up to stay up-to-date on future announcements about the Incubator and to learn more about other housing-related project updates from the City of Sacramento.

Staff Contact:

Greta Soos, Senior Planner
Community Development Department
(916) 808-2027
gsoos@cityofsacramento.org

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