The Hallmark Tower - Proposal From Times Past

 
Hallmark Tower
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.

The Civic Tower - Proposal From Times Past

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

The Civic Tower
North West corner of 10th & H Street
27 Story tower/ 370 ft
Architect James R. Loen
365.935 sq. ft.
9000 sq. ft. ground floor retail
490 parking spaces

Proposed 1989 and died in 1991 due the tight financing forces and the Federal government mandate that banks cut back their real estate lending as well as new pre-leasing requirements.

In late 1989 the Civic Tower was proposed at the corner of 10^th & H Streets in downtown Sacramento. The project was a 27-stories office building with 356,935 sq. ft. of office space with 9,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail and 490 parking spaces. The proposals footprint was .587 acres with the merging of four parcels into one. It was probably canceled for similar reasons as other did during this time, slowing in economic growth and credit shortages, which historically made large, high-rise development projects difficult to finance. Back in the mid 1980’s, the laws changed when financing proposed office buildings, before financing could be released for any new construction office building, the barrower must have 60% of rentable property pre-leased. Of course, if the proposal is self financed, it removes the owner from having to meet any of these financial guidelines. 

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

Civic Tower proposal in Sacramento 1989

Benvenuti Tower - Proposal From Times Past

The Benvenuti tower proposal at 7th & L Street in Sacramento

 

The Benvenuti tower proposal was first proposed in 1989 at the former Greyhound terminal at 7^th & L Streets in downtown Sacramento. The 31-story high-rise proposal by Joseph Benvenuti was part of a broader economic trend to invest more development in downtown Sacramento. Joseph was also involved in the development of three Sacramento landmark projects: the Hyatt Hotel, the Emerald Tower, and the Renaissance Tower. Joseph was also an original and majority owner of the Sacramento Kings when they relocated from Kansas City, and played an integral role in the development and construction of both Kings' arenas. The late 1980s and early 1990s did experience a slowing in economic growth and credit shortages, which historically made large, high-rise development projects difficult to finance. However, the specific 1989 proposal failure cited as being due to a recession is not mentioned specify.

Metro Place - Proposal From Times Past

Metro Place was proposed at 9th & J Streets

Metro Place was proposed in 1999/2000
32-story office/apartment
$127 million in construction costs
114 apartments on the top 10 stories
262,000 square feet of offices
20,562 square feet of retail on the ground floor
1,044 parking spaces. The whole building would be more than 850,000 square feet.
Would have received a $11 million subsidy from the City of Sacramento plus the city's quarter block of land valued at $4.8 million. The whole city package came to $16.7 million. The project never received funding because at this time around the nation office markets were in the doldrums and demand was sluggish. 

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Early rendering of Metro Place proposal without curved version

Here's a link at the Biz Journal as to why is was not feasible...

Friday, April 26, 2002
Metro no place
A downtown Sacramento skyscraper with offices and apartments would have replaced a vacant lot -- if lenders hadn't been spooked

Dean Ingemanson's plan for a 32-story office/apartment building at the Metro Place site on 9th and J streets is defunct because it cannot secure financing in today's weak office market.

Shifting to a more feasible project, Ingemanson has signed a tentative agreement with a Southern California developer, CIM Group Inc., to build an apartment building of about five stories on the site.

Yet Ingemanson and others agree that if the hybrid tower had been built, it almost surely would have been commercially successful.

"The bottom line," Ingemanson said, "is that if I was able with a magic wand to get it built, it would have succeeded because of the low vacancy of class-A office space downtown and demand for downtown apartments."

On top of that, it would have been a stunning coup for the redevelopment officials who staunchly supported Ingemanson's dream of a mix of high-rise apartments with offices and ground-floor retail in downtown Sacramento. And it would have permanently removed one of the worst eyesores in the downtown area, a half-block long hole in the ground, walled off with a cheap plywood fence.

"I thought it was a great urban design project," said Andrew Plescia, the city's economic development director and a strong supporter. "It would have brought a lot of vitality and livability to downtown."

So what happened to this dandy redevelopment project that might have been a resounding commercial success?

The simple answer is that lenders wouldn't touch the $127 million venture. They were spooked by the national economic downturn, combined with a rising office vacancy nationally, especially in the Bay Area. It didn't matter that Sacramento itself is one of the nation's strongest office markets.

No magic wand, no money: Ingemanson's proposal called for a 32-story building to include 114 apartments on the top 10 stories, as well as about 262,000 square feet of offices and 20,562 square feet of retail on the ground floor, plus 1,044 parking spaces. The whole building would be more than 850,000 square feet -- almost as big as the nearby Downtown Plaza mall.

Metro Place would be built on the half block on the south side of J Street between 8th and 9th streets. Ingemanson controlled the western quarter block, while the city owns the eastern quarter.

In early 1999, Ingemanson purchased most of his portion out of bankruptcy court. He then proposed a partnership with the city to build the tower, and the city agreed to chip in an $11 million subsidy, plus the city's quarter block of land, valued at $4.8 million. The whole city package came to $16.7 million.

For redevelopment officials it was a dream come true. Metro Place, two blocks from City Hall, would have replaced a decade-old blight and replaced it with office workers who would shop downtown during the day and residents who would shop downtown after hours.

"It was a huge, wonderful step forward for the housing market downtown," said John Dangberg, executive director of the Capitol Area Development Authority and former redevelopment director for the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

Renters were clearly very interested in the upper-story apartments. Despite high rents, the units would surely have leased, said Dangberg and others.

Office pundits agree that the office portion would eventually have paid off. Downtown Sacramento's office vacancy is 5 percent -- among the lowest in the nation.

Wrong time: But Ingemanson, looking for a loan of $70 million, showed up at the lenders' doors at the wrong time.

"The financial market is chasing stabilized, completed projects, and development projects are seen as higher risks," said Kevin Randles, a mortgage banker with the local office of L.J. Melody & Co., a Houston-based lender and subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis.

Around the nation, the office market is in the doldrums. Demand is sluggish and vacancies are up as a result of corporate America's slowdown during the past year. The Bay Area especially has seen horrendous vacancies and rental decreases as a result of high-tech's hard times.

Sacramento, less than 90 miles from the bay, is guilty by geographical association.

"Sacramento is the only big office market in the United State with single-digit vacancy rates," Randles said. "But we're seen as a sister city to the Bay Area, which is having a lot of trouble."

More here... http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...29/focus1.html

Knott's Landing - Proposal From Times Past

Knott's Landing - Sacramento theme park proposed in 1990"s

Knott's Berry Farm once tried to buy up some land north of Old Town Sacramento and make it into a Theme Park called "Knott's Landing". The theme park was proposed in the mid 90's and would have been along the Sacramento River and  Old Sacramento. From what I have seen, the proposal, it was quite detailed, but in the end it it ran afoul of the Old Sacramento Master plan. It appears the "I" Street bridge would have been dismantled and new bridge built where one is currently in the planning stages. It also included a baseball stadium about the size of the Rivercats ballpark and an indoor arena. It also looks as if the train tracks would have been realigned under the new bridge in a northeast direction to a new train station. I think it would have been successful, a fun place for locals and visitors to enjoy.  
http://www.robinshall.com/knotts-landing-sacramento

Robin Hall the award-winning theme designer returned my request for additional info with this message. "We did the drawings for Knott's Landing in late 1996-into January 1997. My boss; Terry Van Gorder, was always trying to get the Knott Family to expand the brand and build other parks and Knott's Camp Snoopys in different locations around the world. So I would draw up different proposed parks and we would present them. Unfortunately the Family was very risk averse and didn't want to invest anything beyond the design and the branding."

Knott's Landing - Sacramento theme park proposed in 1990"s

Knott's Landing - Sacramento theme park proposed in 1990"s

Knott's Landing - Sacramento theme park proposed in 1990"s

Centrage Project Time Machine

Centrage Project proposed in 1988

What is now becoming McKinley Village was once the proposed site for the Centrage Project, an alternative to suburban sprawl. Back in 1988 this $500 million, European-style self-contained community outraged neighboring east Sacramento residence and the Sacramento Old City Association. Centrage was a high density, transit oriented development that was to be built out over 10 years. At full build out the project would consist of 750,000 square feet of office space, 230,000 sf of retail, 1200 residential units, 250 room hotel, amphitheater, movie theater, 4.5 acre lake, greenbelts, bicycle paths, tennis courts, swimming pools, other outdoor recreation areas, and parking for around 6000 cars. Originally 8 highrises were proposed ranging from 26 to 10 stories. In an effort to satisfy anti-Centrage folk, towers were reduced in size but the opposition were not happy demanding that 50% of the 48 acres be turned into parks and open area. Centrage was one of the most controversial developments in recent Sacramento history, but after nearly a 5 year of heated debate and several reductions in size to win over local residences and City Council, the project was abandon. Below are a couple renderings showing what might have been.

Original rendering of Centrage Project proposed in 1988

Revised plans removed one of the eight planned towers for the project and reduced the size of some of the remaining seven, 26 to 19  story building (one), 16 story buildings (two), 18 to 12 story building (one), 11 to 8 story building (one), 10 story building (one), eliminated one 10 story building, 8 story building (one), 2-6 story building (12)

Centrage Project site plan proposed in 1988

Centrage Project building height comparison 1988

Centrage Project rendering showing originally proposed height of 26 story tower
later reduced to 19 stories looking west from the Capitol Freeway

Centrage Project map overview

Today the 48 acre parcel located between E Street and the Capitiol City Freeway resembles a sprawling suburban neighborhood that's not unique or interesting in any way.

McKinley Village currently under construction