The front door of the old First National Bank at Main and Solano has been chained shut for more than 20 years, according to The Vacaville Reporter. The building still looks the same as it did in spring. The owner is new. On September 1, Suisun City announced that it had transferred 707 Main Street and two downtown parking lots to California Forever, the company pursuing a much larger development elsewhere in Solano County.
On Saturday, October 31, the Suisun City Fire Department Halloween Parade starts on Main Street at 3:30 p.m. The downtown that families walk through that afternoon will run the way it always has. The parking lots are still public, and the businesses on the street are still operating under the same arrangements. So far the sale has changed one thing, which is who holds title to the buildings that have stood empty the longest. The first change residents can see should come this winter, when the city expects to close on the Harbor Theatre and the Lawler House.
The buildings that changed hands were already the quiet ones
It helps to know what California Forever actually bought. In May the City Council approved three separate purchase agreements with two companies, CF Suisun 1 LLC and CF Suisun 2 LLC. The Vacaville Reporter put the total at $1.14 million.
- Agreement one: 701, 711, 713 and 717 Main Street
- Agreement two: 707 Main Street
- Agreement three: two city-owned parcels, which are the parking lots
The city's September 1 announcement confirms that 707 Main and the two lots have closed. Other outlets described it differently. The Daily Republic said 701 Main, and Local News Matters said buildings at 701 through 713 Main. The city's own wording covers only 707 and the lots. It has not announced a separate closing for the four-address agreement.
The city's January appraisal shows what these parcels are like. It covers five Main Street parcels, 701, 707, 711, 713 and 717, and says four of the structures are red-tagged. City Manager Bret Prebula told KCRA that some downtown properties have gone unused for at least a decade. That is why the sale changes so little on the ground right away. Nobody shopped, ate or parked in most of these buildings before September, and nobody does now.
The parking lots stay public at a dollar a year
The two lots are the transferred property residents are most likely to use on an ordinary Saturday. The city now leases them back from California Forever for $1 a year and will keep maintaining and operating them for public parking while the new owner works on planning and entitlements. The lease is why parade day works the same as last year. Parking is open in the usual places, and the city still runs it.
The businesses on Main Street get a commitment too, though it is not written down in the same way. Prebula told KCRA that California Forever had "made a commitment to not gentrify any of the key businesses that we have downtown." Neither the city's release nor that report lists which businesses this covers.
Waterfront Comics at 609 Main sits near the sold parcels, and its owner has been through this before. John Harter told The Vacaville Reporter that redevelopment talk started when he was about 10 years old. He is now 53.
"Anything is better than vacant buildings."
John Harter, owner of Waterfront Comics, speaking to The Vacaville Reporter in May 2026
Other people in town see it differently. Public commenters at the May council meeting mostly opposed the sale and raised concerns about how California Forever would use the properties and about the appraisals. Some local business owners told KCRA off camera that they also opposed it. In May, city staff said they did not know what California Forever planned to do with the parcels. The zoning is Downtown Mixed Use and Main Street Mixed Use, with height limits of 50 to 60 feet. The city says the Downtown Specific Plan, which calls for a mix of commercial and residential uses, will guide what gets built, and that California Forever will do outreach with businesses and residents as planning moves forward. No date for that outreach has been announced.
This winter's closings bring two landmarks into the deal
The 707 Main closing is the start of the sale, not all of it. KCRA reported that the September transfer is the first part of a $1.5 million purchase agreement that also includes the Suisun Harbor Theatre and the Lawler House. The $1.14 million figure from May covered the seven Main Street parcels. The larger KCRA figure includes the two landmark properties. City staff are preparing those sales and expect them to close "this winter."
These are the buildings people actually recognize. The Harbor Theatre at 720 Main once hosted Solano Community College's theatre program and was later leased to the Creative Arts Collective, according to an earlier Daily Republic report. KCRA describes it as shuttered since the 2010s. The Lawler House at 718 Main is one of the oldest buildings in town. It was built in 1857 as a ranch house on land that is now Dover Terrace South, and it was moved to Main Street by truck and barge in 1979. The Daily Republic's summer 2026 Discover Suisun City guide describes it as home to an art gallery. KCRA reported in September that it closed during the 2010s.
No reuse plan has been announced for either building. When the closings happen, two of downtown's most familiar facades will join the vacant Main Street parcels under a single owner.
The rest of the downtown pipeline
California Forever is not the only company with plans for the waterfront. The city's September release listed the other projects.
| Project | Who | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| Awanta, 20 waterfront units at 400 Main Street | Sunfield Development, LLC, listed as property owner and/or applicant | Permits under review as of the city's August 4 staff report; the September release said construction is "scheduled to begin this spring" |
| Almond Garden and Lotz Way | Camran Nojoomi | Under construction |
| Marina property and Parcel 13, next to Mike Day Memorial Park | Camran Nojoomi | Planning applications being prepared |
| Waterfront properties | Lionext Inc. | Moving toward formal application and Planning Commission review |
| 34-acre parcel at the top of downtown | City of Suisun City | Still being marketed |
Only one row describes active construction. Every other project, like the Main Street block, is still in planning or applications. Parcel 13 is the one most park users will want to follow because it sits right next to Mike Day Memorial Park.
What downtown looks like this fall and winter
While the ownership changes work their way through, the city has kept spending on the public parts of the waterfront. In January it announced permanent lights on 37 trees and celebrated them with a waterfront illumination event on January 24. In September, the Daily Republic reported a second round of lighting that debuted at 9 p.m. at Harbor Plaza, the same evening The Groove Foundation played Music on the Waterfront. After dark, the plaza is now noticeably brighter than the vacant block a few addresses up Main Street.
The concert series ended for the year on October 10. These are the next dates on the city calendar:
- Saturday, October 31, 3:30 to 5 p.m. The Suisun City Fire Department Halloween Parade starts at Main Street and Driftwood Drive, and the event page lists 418 Main St. as the location. Costume categories run from ages 0 to 3 up through 17 and older, plus a Family category. There are also prizes for best-dressed firefighters and police officers.
- Sunday, November 1, 4 to 8 p.m. A free Día de los Muertos celebration at the Joseph Nelson Community Center, 611 Village Drive.
- December. The city has not yet posted a 2026 date for the lighted boat parade and tree lighting. The only Christmas on the Waterfront page currently up is last year's, which listed December 6, 2025.
Food along the parade route is the same as before the sale. The Suisun Waterfront dining directory lists Cast Iron Grill and Bar and Craft & Cork at 700 Main Street, Ayemi's Poke & Deli at the same address, Jack's Pub & Grill at 605 Main, and Main Street Bar Grill at 627 Main. On Kellogg Street it lists Athenian Grill at 750 Kellogg and Babs Delta Diner at 770 Kellogg. The district's shopping page lists Retroactive Records and Games at 801 Main and Suisun Port of Call Groceries at 715 Main. Hours change with the season, so check with a business directly before planning a stop around the parade.
If you own a home near the waterfront, you're probably wondering how a downtown project list like this one could affect what your home is worth. Loney and Worley Team follows these Suisun City projects as they move from planning to construction, and we can show you how they affect a home near the waterfront. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through what's changing near your street.
