Friday, June 29, 2012

Nomination of Maydestone as Historic Place

Maydestone - 1001 15th Street, Sacramento, CA 95614
Next week the Preservation Commission will consider nominating the Maydestone Apartments to the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1910, the building will be eligible as an important element contributing to the urbanization of Sacramento in the early 20th century and as an excellent representative of Mission Revival design in Sacramento.
Last year the building finished up rehabilitation at a cost of $7.2 million which restored the building in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standard of Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.        

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

L Street Lofts Now Renting

L Street Lofts - 1818 L Street, Sacramento CA 95811












The L Street Lofts just became more affordable to those desiring to live at this midtown location. If you want to rent, they range from $1,825 for one bedroom to $3,150 for a one bedroom Penthouse. If you would rather buy a condo, Zillow show the sale of a 663 sf. unit on the 6th floor for $210,000 last April… making the estimated monthly mortgage payment $758. Buying a unit seems to be the better way to go, but don’t forget the HOA fees, I believe that’s an additional $250 per month.

L Street Lofts

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Federal Grant Secured for Train Depot

Sacramento Valley Train Station Depot - 401 I Street














Sacramento’s historic Sacramento Valley train station has been awarded $15 million by a Federal Grant to rehabilitate the outdated depot. The money will be matched by local funds to include adding air conditioning and modern heating, fixing stairs and elevators, renovating bathrooms, and creating new spaces for leasable use. The city plans include a restaurant in what is now a large, unused space adjacent to the train depot's main waiting room. Work is expected to start next summer.
The station was originally built by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926 $2.3 million.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Light Rail to the River District

The first phase of the Green Line connecting downtown Sacramento to the River District and extending 1.1 miles north to Richards Boulevard and 7th Street at the Township 9 development, will be ready for service this Friday.

The Green Line will eventually extend light rail 12.8 miles north from downtown Sacrament through Natomas and the Sacramento International Airport. The Green Line to the River District will operate as an independent circulator, connecting to existing tracks south of H Street and operating through downtown to the 13th Street light rail station.

In conjunction with the City of Sacramento's two major development projects (The Railyards and Township 9) and the River District Specific Plan, the Green Line to the River District will provide a key transit link from these developments to downtown Sacramento.

The Green Line to the River District is RT's first design-build track construction project.  The cost of the design-build contract is $44.4 million.
























Project Benefits

This project is the first phase of a larger project that will provide improved transit service tot he Natomas communities and beyond. It will also demonstrate RT's ability to deliver a locally-funded project that supports the Sacramento region's Blueprint principles by tying transit service to future development and promoting patterns of smart growth.

The Green Line to the River District will provide public investment in a corridor identified for redevelopment, which will lead to needed private investment, and provide immediate benefits to existing businesses along the corridor.

Trains are expected to operate on a 30-minute frequency and generate an additional 6,540 daily boarding’s.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Reducing Minimum Parking Standards

Existing parking requirements for all development in and around downtown Sacramento are currently under review with plans to reduce or eliminate minimum parking standards. The City’s Planning Commission has been discussing plans to reduce minimum parking standards over time to promote walkable neighborhoods and districts and to increase the use of transit and bicycles.
According to the published reports; The Zoning Code’s parking requirements for new land uses are outdated and designed primarily for suburban development, as opposed to redeveloping our existing urban and traditional neighborhoods. These existing neighborhoods often include the reuse of lots and buildings that were created prior to the significant increase in the use of the automobile.
The City of Sacramento Zoning Code Parking Update is a citywide effort to fundamentally reform how Sacramento plans, designs, builds, evaluates, and thinks about its parking resources.
Throughout Sacramento there is a large amount of publicly available parking that already exists, but is largely underutilized. While several stakeholders mentioned that on-street parking congestion is a key concern, data show that there is ample off-street parking capacity at peak hour, with almost 46,000 vacant spaces in the Center City alone.
It is increasingly difficult to fit the current amount of parking required into a buildable project as the site and project become smaller.
The Problem:
• Parking requirements can create substantial challenges to not only the cost, design, and development of infill projects but also the community’s perceived negative impacts of the new development.
• Current regulations do not acknowledge the benefits of mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods that are well-served by transit in terms of reducing trips and the need for parking; they also do not provide incentives for owners of existing parking facilities to share their parking when it is not being used.
• Current regulations are inflexible both in how off-street parking can be provided but also in how parking lots are designed.
• Many existing infill sites contain little or no parking.
• New infill development is often expensive and cannot afford the cost or space required for suburban parking standards.
Timeline:
1. Planning Commission Discussion of the Preliminary Analysis March 8, 2012
2. Planning Commission Confirmation of Key Findings and May 10, 2012 Recommendations
3. Law & Legislation Committee Confirmation of Key Findings June 7, 2012 and Recommendations
4. Adoption of Report and Ordinances September 2012
Read more here, here & here.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

'Cap City Sips' Summer Happy Hour













This summer, Downtown Sacramento Partnership and local downtown businesses have joined forces to create a budget-friendly happy hour promotion for the Downtown District. Each restaurant or bar participating in Cap City Sips will offer a happy hour menu every Wednesday from 3-7pm featuring $2 beers, $3 wine, and $4 cocktails. The deals will continue each week all summer long, today through August 29. Since the price points are exactly the same at each participating location, patrons will have a chance to try multiple venues throughout the course of the 3-monthpromotion.
Participating restaurants and bars to date include 4th Street Grille, Blue Prynt, Capitol Garage, Dive Bar, Fat City Bar & CafĂ©, The Firehouse Restaurant, Frank Fat’s, House Kitchen & Bar, Kupros Bistro, The Melting Pot, Michelangelo’s, Monsoon’s, O’Mally’s Irish Pub, Pizza Rock, Public Market Bar (PMB) at The Sheraton, Pyramid Ale House, River City Brewing Company, River City Saloon, Ten22, and Tequila Museo Mayahuel.