The Hallmark Tower - Proposal From Times Past

 
Hallmark Towers
North West corner of 15th & L Street
32 Story tower/ 502 ft
TDK Architects & Planning
Developer: Joseph Benvenuti
539,190 total sq. ft.
15,586 sq. ft. ground floor retail
387,090 sq. ft. office
164 hotel rooms on floors 24-32
Swimming pool
865 parking spaces

 Proposed 1990 and died in 1991 due to the City of Sacramento new law to limit heights of skyscrapers as a way to protect the view of the State Capitol. Back in 1990 when the tower was first proposed their were no height restrictions for the area but shortly after this tower and two others were proposed, both Mayor Anne Rudin and Sacramento Assemblyman Lloyd Connelly pursued an ordinance to limit height and protect the Capitol. At the time the City imposed the restrictions it ended up wiping out a total of three high-rise proposals, one by developer Giannoni at 14^th & L Street at 19 stories and another by Benvenuti at 15^th and K Street to be 14 stories, and the Hallmark Tower at 502’. The new law at the time limited all building to ten stories or 135’. All three buildings would have been to tall and blocked the Capitol view. At the time, councilmember’s said “they were committed to smaller buildings around the perimeter of the entire park” which discouraged the developers who started getting entitlements for their projects a year prior  to cancel all three towers out of frustration and uncertainly as to what the City might do to further scale down their projects

It looks as if the towers design was used two years later in San Diego for the One America Plaza here.