Originally the design was to be a replica of Meridian I, but twice as tall. Looks like that won't be the case though.
This is the only rendering I have so it's a little tough to get a good idea of the look since it's a black and white rendering, at that angle and no other info about ground floor retail and such. It looks like it could have some nice potential though. I like the layers on the building, but the lower left part of the rendering on the ground floor looks weird, not sure if that is the entrance or what. Ground floor retail in that area should be a must. A few more angles and renderings would be helpful.
You would think with 621 Capital Mall and 500 Capital Mall (which now seems to be stuck in CalTrans CEQA beaurocracy) adding over 700K to the market, there wouldn't be room for another large Class A building right away.
Meridian II seems to already a tenant lined up though. There was an article a while back about the law firm of Bullivant Houser Bailey leasing the last 25K in Meridian I, with plans to take more space in Meridian II. I don't remember how much space it was or if was even mentioned, but that might get them off the ground, esp considering it will have the bankroll of Angelo K. Tsakopoulos (Angelo G. Tsakopoulos, Angelo's nephew (I think), is 500 CM) behind it.
Bullivant also commented that the reason they choose the location they did was partially because of all the great new restaurants and excitement on that side of downtown and midtown. Nice to see some of the cool venues that have opened up taken notice by potential employers, esp one that move their office from the suburbs to downtown like Bullivant did. Hopefully others feel the same way.
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Awful rendering... but I understand that's the best you got right now. My first impression is awkward looking. Those cutouts with plants growing through them look odd.
Is that what those cutouts are? That is weird..
I can't help but wonder if the Caltrans objections to 500 CM and other downtown projects are a way to try and leverage the city of Sacramento into lifting their opposition to the various HOV lane proposals coming, quite literally, down the turnpike. Caltrans fails to realize that relieving freeway congestion by adding lanes is like getting a bigger belt as a way to lose weight.
I've seen that neighborhood go through a lot of changes in the past 20+ years (I used to be a busboy/dishwasher at the convention center in 1986) and this is interesting news...on one hand I am still in mourning for the funky neighborhood that the place used to be (with Beers Books, World's Best Comics, Beyond the Pale, the original Capitol Garage, House of Monkey, Danceteria/One Edge Up all within a block) but it's interesting to see the city grow up. Although the relocation of Big Brother Comics to 18th and J means that hopefully downtown Sacramento isn't afraid to let its adolescent side shine.
"I can't help but wonder if the Caltrans objections to 500 CM and other downtown projects are a way to try and leverage the city of Sacramento into lifting their opposition to the various HOV lane proposals coming, quite literally, down the turnpike."
That was my initial response to the news as well. I actually wrote an email to the city council eluding to that thought.
"Caltrans fails to realize that relieving freeway congestion by adding lanes is like getting a bigger belt as a way to lose weight."
Nice analogy. How about lets see ummm, find a way to take cars OFF the freeway as a way to reduce congesstion. The fact that we don't have the DNA line and a line going out to Roseville, and won't have it for many many years, is a tragedy in my mind.
Actually I will give credit for the belt analogy to Kenneth Jackson's Crabgrass Frontier, which I highly recommend for anyone interested in the history of the American suburb.
We don't have a light rail line to Roseville because Roseville is basically a parasitic city. They use Sacramento job numbers as their own (considering commuters who live in Roseville but work in Sac as locally employed), dump their homeless and mentally ill off at Loaves & Fishes rather than provide any of their own services, and they have no objection to Light Rail reaching the Placer County line as long as Sacramento pays for every red cent of its construction and operation. They're like a giant beige lamprey.
Caltrans doesn't care about alternatives to freeways, because they don't get paid to build alternatives to freeways, they get paid to build freeways. Taking cars off the freeways *does* work, it's just a solution that doesn't maintain Caltrans' budget.
Without something @ street level it will be the biggest architectural crime since the East End project a few blocks away . . .
or until the West End Project comes along....
Hey, does anyone else think it's funny that the south elevation on this thing appears to have the front entrance? That would suggest that the front of this building would be facing an alley. Right?
The first Meridian tower has two entrances; I would think they are using the same design concept here too. Maybe this second entrance is designed to get traffic off the street.
Just to inform you all:
Meridian II will not look anything like the rendering that is ref'd in this blog.
Thanks for the update Anonymous..
Any other info you can provide? I hear they are looking to break ground this September.
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