Lodi downtown revitalization plan aims to bridge railroad divide

A stretch of downtown Lodi that some business owners said has long felt overlooked could soon see new attention under a city revitalization plan.

Ashley Baumgarte works at Her Pretty Things Boutique on Sacramento Street in downtown Lodi. With only a few businesses operating on that stretch, she said the area can sometimes feel forgotten.

"[The owner] has a great following, but as far as traffic and new customers, it's always kind of a struggle being over here by yourself," Baumgarte said.

The boutique opened eight years ago. Like many small businesses, it struggled during the pandemic but persevered.

"It's always a struggle to kind of get new people over here," Baumgarte said. "That's why the farmers market has been great for us, getting extra eyes in the store."

Those extra eyes could eventually turn into more business as the city works on a plan to better connect both sides of downtown and bring new life to the area across the railroad tracks.

"It's such a beautiful storefront side over here," Baumgarte said. "The buildings are beautiful and getting new businesses and people over here is going to be great."

Lodi City Councilmember Lisa Craig-Hensley said the city has not done that type of downtown planning since the early 1990s.

"We have not done any type of planning since the early '90s, so it's well past time to get this accomplished," Craig-Hensley said.

Craig-Hensley said the plan is expansive. It aims to connect the two sides of downtown, revitalize what is already in place and preserve the city's history.

"We needed to also look at ways that we could connect across the railroad tracks and doing a lot of aesthetic enhancements to the downtown area to really demonstrate that we have a very unique, specific place that we want to protect," she said. "Part of protecting that place is identifying and protecting our historic assets."

The plan will take years to complete, but city leaders say they want to start work right away.

"We really want to focus on things that visitors, that our community residents, that our business owners, value," Craig-Hensley said. "Let's look at things like lighting our alleyways. Let's look at greater public safety opportunities to enliven that part of town so that people feel that it's somewhere that they're attracted to and that they want to spend some of their time and more importantly, make an investment."

For businesses like Her Pretty Things Boutique, that investment could bring more foot traffic and help a quieter side of downtown flourish.

"That would be great to have more people, more eyes in the stores," Baumgarte said. "That's always, always fantastic."