Quick summary since they didn't give much info during the annoucement at the council meeting. I'm sure there will be an article in the Bee or Business Journal seen with more details. (Added below)
-The city approved a settlement with Mohanna for 18.6 Million to buy all his property on the 700 and 800 block.
-The 800 block is going under an ERN for 9-months for a 400-room hotel on K Street and a mixed-use project on L Street with US Hospitalites Inc (Bob Leach who built the new La Rivage on the river).
- There was something mentioned how Leach would have to buy the land at the 800 block for $150 a square foot assuming things actually happen.
- Comment from Fong (paraphrasing): 'Joe (Zieden), if you are watching, time to get to work'
In these economic times, I just hope the 700 block can get going in a short amount of time. With lending still tough to come by and retailers I'm sure not jumping at the idea of opening a new store in an area with bad track record, I'm worried.
The good news for the 800 block is Leach spent 8 or 9 years trying to build the La Rivage, so at least we know he can stick with something 'till the bitter end..which it might take given the long path to this point.
Speaking of hotels, I know that they tend to overall do well in DT, but it seems like there are a lot of them out there right now being proposed. Leach at 800 K, Taylor, Saca, The Marshall, the one at 13th and I...plus The Citizen is now coming on-line. I could see one, maybe two, but not all five in the near to intermediate term.
__________________________________________________________________
Sacramento council OKs settlement to allow K Street development
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - mlvellinga@sacbee.com
The Sacramento City Council approved a settlement Tuesday with property owner Moe Mohanna that will break the logjam on the K Street Mall and allow redevelopment on the bleak stretch of the 700 and 800 blocks just outside Downtown Plaza.
In order to settle an eminent domain lawsuit filed by the city, Mohanna agreed to sell all nine of his properties in the two blocks to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency for $18.6 million.
The storefronts in the 700 block will go to developer Joe Zeiden, who plans to convert them into a retail row anchored by his Z Gallerie Furniture store
The redevelopment agency has agreed to negotiate with hotel developer Bob Leach on the 800 block. Leach plans to build a 400-room hotel -- possibly a Hilton -- along K Street and a mixed-use project along the L Street side of the properties.
Mohanna will remain as a limited partner in the hotel project. If it goes forward, the partners will have to purchase the 800 block properties back from the redevelopment agency.
City council members approved the deal unanimously in closed session.
"We think this is a fair deal for the city, and we really get to put a lot of litigation behind us," Mayor Heather Fargo told reporters after the council action.
The often-combative Mohanna, who has battled the city for months, was subdued when he appeared before reporters.
"We all have to learn to let go," he said. "In this case, it's better to let go."
He said the $18.6 million from the city's redevelopment coffers won't go to him, but to pay off banks and other investors.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 800. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query 800. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Saturday, January 13, 2007
700 Block K Street Holdup
More bad news...
___________________________________________________________________
K Street land swap hits snag
Finance disputes stall plan for retail projects on mall.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Last-minute financial issues raised by property owner Moe Mohanna are delaying a land swap required for a major retail project to move forward in the 700 block of the struggling K Street Mall.
Furniture retailer Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie chain, had expected to have all of the properties in the 700 block under his control by the end of 2006, said Wendy Hoyt, his local consultant.
But Zeiden is still waiting for Mohanna, who owns many properties on K Street and the surrounding blocks, to sign documents putting his 700 block parcels into escrow.
"We signed everything we need to sign some time ago," Hoyt said.
"We have several tenants lined up to open by the end of '07, and everything is hinging on this land assembly swap happening within the time frame it was committed to," she said.
"We should be in our buildings by now and doing tenant improvements, but instead we're waiting for land assembly agreements to be finished."
If the deal falls apart, it would be a major blow to the city of Sacramento, which is already scrambling to get the stalled Towers condominium project at Third Street and Capitol Mall back on track.
In her State of the Downtown speech Thursday, Mayor Heather Fargo alluded to the problems dogging K Street and other developments planned for downtown when she said: "We will go over, under, around or through to make these projects happen."
Zeiden has promised to revamp the row of historic buildings just outside the entrance to Downtown Plaza in time for the 2007 holiday shopping season.
Retailers expressing interest in the project have included Urban Outfitters, Sur La Table and Anthropologie.
Eager to bring new life to K Street, the city has helped Zeiden by spending about $24 million to buy properties in the 700 and 800 blocks of K and L streets.
It plans to trade those in the 800 block to Mohanna in exchange for his properties in the 700 block.
Once the transfer is complete, Zeiden will control the 700 block, and Mohanna will have most of the 800 block.
Mohanna and his partners, John Lambeth and John Saca, plan ground floor retail topped by high-rise condominium towers in the 800 block. With the housing market in a slump, Mohanna said they plan to concentrate on getting the retail built first.
Mohanna said his current problem is that a November fire in the already-devastated 800 block resulted in two additional buildings being demolished, one belonging to him and one belonging to Zeiden.
Another building, now owned by the city, is slated for demolition. And a fourth building has been declared dangerous.
Given this state of affairs, he said, the four banks that hold loans totaling $4 million on his 700 block properties have thus far been unwilling to transfer those debts to the collection of ruined buildings in the 800 block.
"The banks gave us loans because the buildings were operable and had tenants," Mohanna said.
"Now we are asking the lenders to take their loans and put them on the next block, so the banks have a legitimate argument saying these are not similar types of buildings. There is no income."
"Right in the middle of the appraisal, two buildings got demolished," he said.
Mohanna said he did not have insurance on 810 K St., which burned in the fire. Zeiden's adjacent building, 812 K St., also was destroyed.
The Sacramento City Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire, but Mohanna said transients were trespassing in both buildings.
Mohanna said the city should figure out some way to help resolve the issue of the loans for the
700 block.
He also said any insurance money collected for buildings in the 800 block should go to help fix up the 800 block.
"I think it can get worked out," he said.
"It's not a major obstacle. It's just a matter of the city sitting with the banks and convincing them that these collaterals are equal."
Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Friday that Mohanna's loans "are not our issue."
"We have a land exchange agreement -- period," he said. Dangberg said he planned to meet with Mohanna next week.
"If there's some way to work this out, we're eager to do that. Our objective here it to get this transfer done. We're doing everything we can to make this happen, however we have to do it."
Dangberg said the use of eminent domain to wrest the buildings from Mohanna is "not out of the realm" of possibility.
___________________________________________________________________
K Street land swap hits snag
Finance disputes stall plan for retail projects on mall.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Last-minute financial issues raised by property owner Moe Mohanna are delaying a land swap required for a major retail project to move forward in the 700 block of the struggling K Street Mall.
Furniture retailer Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie chain, had expected to have all of the properties in the 700 block under his control by the end of 2006, said Wendy Hoyt, his local consultant.
But Zeiden is still waiting for Mohanna, who owns many properties on K Street and the surrounding blocks, to sign documents putting his 700 block parcels into escrow.
"We signed everything we need to sign some time ago," Hoyt said.
"We have several tenants lined up to open by the end of '07, and everything is hinging on this land assembly swap happening within the time frame it was committed to," she said.
"We should be in our buildings by now and doing tenant improvements, but instead we're waiting for land assembly agreements to be finished."
If the deal falls apart, it would be a major blow to the city of Sacramento, which is already scrambling to get the stalled Towers condominium project at Third Street and Capitol Mall back on track.
In her State of the Downtown speech Thursday, Mayor Heather Fargo alluded to the problems dogging K Street and other developments planned for downtown when she said: "We will go over, under, around or through to make these projects happen."
Zeiden has promised to revamp the row of historic buildings just outside the entrance to Downtown Plaza in time for the 2007 holiday shopping season.
Retailers expressing interest in the project have included Urban Outfitters, Sur La Table and Anthropologie.
Eager to bring new life to K Street, the city has helped Zeiden by spending about $24 million to buy properties in the 700 and 800 blocks of K and L streets.
It plans to trade those in the 800 block to Mohanna in exchange for his properties in the 700 block.
Once the transfer is complete, Zeiden will control the 700 block, and Mohanna will have most of the 800 block.
Mohanna and his partners, John Lambeth and John Saca, plan ground floor retail topped by high-rise condominium towers in the 800 block. With the housing market in a slump, Mohanna said they plan to concentrate on getting the retail built first.
Mohanna said his current problem is that a November fire in the already-devastated 800 block resulted in two additional buildings being demolished, one belonging to him and one belonging to Zeiden.
Another building, now owned by the city, is slated for demolition. And a fourth building has been declared dangerous.
Given this state of affairs, he said, the four banks that hold loans totaling $4 million on his 700 block properties have thus far been unwilling to transfer those debts to the collection of ruined buildings in the 800 block.
"The banks gave us loans because the buildings were operable and had tenants," Mohanna said.
"Now we are asking the lenders to take their loans and put them on the next block, so the banks have a legitimate argument saying these are not similar types of buildings. There is no income."
"Right in the middle of the appraisal, two buildings got demolished," he said.
Mohanna said he did not have insurance on 810 K St., which burned in the fire. Zeiden's adjacent building, 812 K St., also was destroyed.
The Sacramento City Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire, but Mohanna said transients were trespassing in both buildings.
Mohanna said the city should figure out some way to help resolve the issue of the loans for the
700 block.
He also said any insurance money collected for buildings in the 800 block should go to help fix up the 800 block.
"I think it can get worked out," he said.
"It's not a major obstacle. It's just a matter of the city sitting with the banks and convincing them that these collaterals are equal."
Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Friday that Mohanna's loans "are not our issue."
"We have a land exchange agreement -- period," he said. Dangberg said he planned to meet with Mohanna next week.
"If there's some way to work this out, we're eager to do that. Our objective here it to get this transfer done. We're doing everything we can to make this happen, however we have to do it."
Dangberg said the use of eminent domain to wrest the buildings from Mohanna is "not out of the realm" of possibility.
Monday, March 22, 2021
800 Block Demolition
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| Corner of 8th & L Streets |
Last year the buildings at the 800 block of L Street began to fail and the city swiftly recommended the demolition. It appears they are now in the final clean up stage for the area. Demolition of that building and the one to the east of it has now made way for one of the six-story buildings planned for the site. The 800 block of K Street has been an empty hole for a couple decades now, but it now appears to be a staging area for reclaiming bricks from the demolition on L Street. The historic Bel-Vue apartments on 8th Street has been renovated and turning into affordable housing. When construction of the 800 block of K & L Street does begin, the plans are to build 148 apartments and have 10,000 square feet of retail in the area.
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| L Street looking north |
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| 800 K Street looking north |
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| Reclaiming bricks from demolition at 800 K Street |
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| Historic Bel-Vue built in 1910 has been renovated for affordable one bed-room apartments |
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| 8th Street looking south towards L Street |
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| On the corner of 8th & L Streets |
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| Cleared block of 800 L Street looking north |
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| Looking north towards L Street with the Renaissance Tower above built in 1989 |
Thursday, March 25, 2010
David S. Taylor Interests, Inc. 700 & 800 K Street Proposal
This proposal redevelops both the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. All structures on the 700 block would be renovated for mixed-use retail with the addition of retail kiosk. The 800 block on the corner of 8th & L Street would include remodeling the Bel-Vue Hotel and opening it up for low income residents. A combination of new construction at the corner of 8th & L Street that would also extend into the renovated Bel-Vue would add an additional 54 housing units with retail at the ground level. The north corner of K & 8th Street would include a new four level building that includes mixed-use retail and 66 market rate housing units. Taylor’s plan also includes renovating both the Kress building and Montgomery Ward building for an additional 45 additional housing units; however, they have not been able to establish a viable financial model for this larger vision. Their goal is to join the Kress and Montgomery Ward buildings with the new building at 800 K Street to form a block of housing, retail and tenant parking. The ground floors of Kress and Montgomery Wards as well the K Street and 8th Street frontages of the new construction would be continuous retail except for residential entries on 8th and 9th Streets.
David Taylor has an incredible track record of getting projects done in Sacramento when others can’t quite make it happen. Although I’m not always a fan of how they look aesthetically, his ability to follow through as promised can not be over looked. Because not all the rendering for the proposal are available, I can’t say yet weather I will like it or not. From the looks the one rendering that is available, it appears to look similar to “800 J” which was completed just a few years ago. I hope (if chosen) this K Street proposal looks better than “800 J” which lacks any architectural personality. The buildings function is exactly what downtown needs, but it’s unfriendly cheap looking street appearance is not what K Street needs. By the looks of the vague rending provided, it appears vary similar to the monstrosity on J Street.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
800 Block Design & Review
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| 800 K Street - SW Corner |
Yes, after the Sacramento Kings used their option to buy 800 K Street property, they have now submitted plans to the Planning and Design Commission for approval. Ali Youssefi and partners have proposed 148 units, 18,000sf of ground floor commercial, 7 levels (5 residential, 1 retail, 1 below ground parking) for a total of 148,147sf. The proposed height is 85 feet with 130 parking spaces for cars. If built, this will be a great addition to K Street and help in the overall development of the area. I like the outdoor roof space. This project will span from K Street to L Street with the historic Belvue Bldg. standing in between. The new structures will bookend the North and South of the Belvue. No date for starting work has been given and the cost of the project is unknown. Read more about the project HERE.
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| 800 K Street - NW Corner |
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| 800 K Street / 801 L Street - SW Corner |
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| 800 K Street / 801 L Street - SW Corner |
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
City authorizes eminent domain proceedings for K Street properties
'bout time...
I do hope the two sides can come to agreement, but this does give the city another tool to finally get something done on those two blocks.
During public comment, Sid Heberger from The Crest sounded like she wanted to reach over and hurt Moe.
Either way, its going to be a hell of a fight. There are other problems on that stretch, but this is by far in my mind the biggest.
________________________________________________________________________________________
K Street battle headed to court
Taking action against blight, the City Council votes to force big landowner to sell his properties.
Saying the blight on K Street has festered for too long, Sacramento City Council members brushed aside threats of a drawn out courtroom battle, voting unanimously Tuesday to start the legal process of forcing landowner Moe Mohanna to sell his properties there.
At the close of a bruising four-hour public hearing, Mayor Heather Fargo said she still hopes the city can reach an amicable settlement with Mohanna, but needs to have the tool of eminent domain at its disposal.
"The message that this sends is that the city of Sacramento is serious about K Street," Fargo said after the 9-0 vote. "K Street is going to be a retail street that people in Sacramento will be proud of, and we will do whatever it takes to get there."
he next step is for the city to convince a Sacramento Superior Court that the use of eminent domain is justified. Then, it would be up to a jury to decide how much the city would have to pay Mohanna for his nine properties on two of the bleakest blocks on the K Street Mall.
At Tuesday's hearing, four lawyers appeared on behalf of Mohanna and other partners in his properties. They challenged the city's characterization of the events leading up to the vote, saying they would use 13 different legal arguments to challenge it.
"You're going to lose … and it's guaranteed whichever way it comes out you're going to be in court a long time," said lawyer Myron Moskovitz.
"Your staff told you this is a way to speed this up, this is a way to get the downtown going quicker. It's exactly the opposite. This is the way to slow things down."
Moskovitz said his client should be given the chance to redevelop his own properties. "Moe's ready to go. He's ready to develop on his own."
A parade of prominent downtown developers, business people and civic leaders, however, urged the city to do whatever it takes – including exercising eminent domain – to move forward with redevelopment.
Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie, plans to convert the historic buildings in the 700 block into a row that includes upscale retailers such as Sur La Table, Z Gallerie and Anthropologie.
Zeiden attended the hearing but didn't speak. His lawyer, Richard Hyde, told the council that "this city is fortunate to have a developer of this quality willing to take an interest in and redevelop K Street."
David Taylor, downtown's most prominent high-rise developer, said the picture was bleak. "I've never been more discouraged about K Street than I am right now, and I'm fearful that if you don't do anything tonight, you'll be in exactly the same spot that you're in five years from now, 10 years from now," he said. Taylor is a member of the team currently converting the old Woolworth store at 10th and K streets into a live theater and restaurant.
Rick Braziel, the city's new police chief appointee, said crime on that end of the mall has doubled in the past 10 years, mainly because of drug offenses and theft. "The 700 and 800 blocks of K Street are in need of an immediate and significant transformation from a public safety perspective," he said.
Also urging the city to authorize eminent domain were the operators of the Crest Theatre and the new Ella Dining Room and Bar on the K Street Mall.
Randall Selland, whose family owns Ella, came to the meeting in his chef's smock. He said the city needs more destination tenants, not more "lunch spots."
"It doesn't mean a little paint and spackle, which is what you've got going on now," Selland said. "You need something big."
A year ago, the city had in hand a signed deal with Mohanna and Zeiden to move forward with redevelopment on the two blocks. Mohanna had agreed to swap his properties on the 700 block with an equal amount of property on the 800 block. The city has spent more than $24 million to help Zeiden by acquiring properties that could be swapped with Mohanna's.
But a fire over Thanksgiving weekend in 2006 destroyed one of Mohanna's buildings in the 800 block. The city responded by declaring that the other buildings on the block were now dangerous and had to be knocked down.
Suddenly, Mohanna was faced with swapping a row of intact buildings on the 700 block with a hole in the ground on the 800 block. He balked, and the city is now fighting him in court to force him to follow through with the deal. City officials say the plan was always to demolish the buildings on the 800 block and build a new structure. But Mohanna had been hoping to rent them out until a development project made economic sense.
Mohanna and city leaders have been negotiating, but they have yet to agree on a new set of terms that would persuade Mohanna to go forward with the swap.
"If we had heard from Mr. Mohanna that he was willing to follow through," Fargo said, "we would not be here today."
Mohanna's representatives characterized the situation differently, saying the two sides had been close to agreement on a development project for the 800 block when the city played the eminent domain card. A meeting had been scheduled for January.
"Moe was furious, but he was still willing to go through with the meeting in January," Moskovitz said. "After today, I don't know."
I do hope the two sides can come to agreement, but this does give the city another tool to finally get something done on those two blocks.
During public comment, Sid Heberger from The Crest sounded like she wanted to reach over and hurt Moe.
Either way, its going to be a hell of a fight. There are other problems on that stretch, but this is by far in my mind the biggest.
________________________________________________________________________________________
K Street battle headed to court
Taking action against blight, the City Council votes to force big landowner to sell his properties.
Saying the blight on K Street has festered for too long, Sacramento City Council members brushed aside threats of a drawn out courtroom battle, voting unanimously Tuesday to start the legal process of forcing landowner Moe Mohanna to sell his properties there.
At the close of a bruising four-hour public hearing, Mayor Heather Fargo said she still hopes the city can reach an amicable settlement with Mohanna, but needs to have the tool of eminent domain at its disposal.
"The message that this sends is that the city of Sacramento is serious about K Street," Fargo said after the 9-0 vote. "K Street is going to be a retail street that people in Sacramento will be proud of, and we will do whatever it takes to get there."
he next step is for the city to convince a Sacramento Superior Court that the use of eminent domain is justified. Then, it would be up to a jury to decide how much the city would have to pay Mohanna for his nine properties on two of the bleakest blocks on the K Street Mall.
At Tuesday's hearing, four lawyers appeared on behalf of Mohanna and other partners in his properties. They challenged the city's characterization of the events leading up to the vote, saying they would use 13 different legal arguments to challenge it.
"You're going to lose … and it's guaranteed whichever way it comes out you're going to be in court a long time," said lawyer Myron Moskovitz.
"Your staff told you this is a way to speed this up, this is a way to get the downtown going quicker. It's exactly the opposite. This is the way to slow things down."
Moskovitz said his client should be given the chance to redevelop his own properties. "Moe's ready to go. He's ready to develop on his own."
A parade of prominent downtown developers, business people and civic leaders, however, urged the city to do whatever it takes – including exercising eminent domain – to move forward with redevelopment.
Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie, plans to convert the historic buildings in the 700 block into a row that includes upscale retailers such as Sur La Table, Z Gallerie and Anthropologie.
Zeiden attended the hearing but didn't speak. His lawyer, Richard Hyde, told the council that "this city is fortunate to have a developer of this quality willing to take an interest in and redevelop K Street."
David Taylor, downtown's most prominent high-rise developer, said the picture was bleak. "I've never been more discouraged about K Street than I am right now, and I'm fearful that if you don't do anything tonight, you'll be in exactly the same spot that you're in five years from now, 10 years from now," he said. Taylor is a member of the team currently converting the old Woolworth store at 10th and K streets into a live theater and restaurant.
Rick Braziel, the city's new police chief appointee, said crime on that end of the mall has doubled in the past 10 years, mainly because of drug offenses and theft. "The 700 and 800 blocks of K Street are in need of an immediate and significant transformation from a public safety perspective," he said.
Also urging the city to authorize eminent domain were the operators of the Crest Theatre and the new Ella Dining Room and Bar on the K Street Mall.
Randall Selland, whose family owns Ella, came to the meeting in his chef's smock. He said the city needs more destination tenants, not more "lunch spots."
"It doesn't mean a little paint and spackle, which is what you've got going on now," Selland said. "You need something big."
A year ago, the city had in hand a signed deal with Mohanna and Zeiden to move forward with redevelopment on the two blocks. Mohanna had agreed to swap his properties on the 700 block with an equal amount of property on the 800 block. The city has spent more than $24 million to help Zeiden by acquiring properties that could be swapped with Mohanna's.
But a fire over Thanksgiving weekend in 2006 destroyed one of Mohanna's buildings in the 800 block. The city responded by declaring that the other buildings on the block were now dangerous and had to be knocked down.
Suddenly, Mohanna was faced with swapping a row of intact buildings on the 700 block with a hole in the ground on the 800 block. He balked, and the city is now fighting him in court to force him to follow through with the deal. City officials say the plan was always to demolish the buildings on the 800 block and build a new structure. But Mohanna had been hoping to rent them out until a development project made economic sense.
Mohanna and city leaders have been negotiating, but they have yet to agree on a new set of terms that would persuade Mohanna to go forward with the swap.
"If we had heard from Mr. Mohanna that he was willing to follow through," Fargo said, "we would not be here today."
Mohanna's representatives characterized the situation differently, saying the two sides had been close to agreement on a development project for the 800 block when the city played the eminent domain card. A meeting had been scheduled for January.
"Moe was furious, but he was still willing to go through with the meeting in January," Moskovitz said. "After today, I don't know."
Monday, March 22, 2010
K Street Projects Revealed
, Rubicon’s “The AuthentiCity” Proposal
Both details and rendering have emerged on several proposals put forth to develop both the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street with Sacramento’s Rubicon Partners showing the most ambitious proposal of them all. The Rubicon’s proposal includes building 400 mixed-income residential units and 150 luxury condos, 2,000-seat entertainment setting, grocery store, a 35,000-square-foot farmers’ market, 375-unit hotel and 125,000 square feet of retail spread over two blocks. The developer named this proposal “The AuthentiCity”. This has got to be boldest of the four proposals with a team that has experience doing projects including The Citizen Hotel as well as both 2110 L Street and 1801 L Street which are high-density mixed-use.
700-800 K Street, LLC
David S. Taylor Inc. has proposed a mixed retail-office development for the 700 block of K Street for about 50,000 square feet of retail and 57,000 square feet of office with the storefront façades retained. Taylor’s proposing 54 low- to moderate-income residential units by joining new construction to the existing Bel-Vue apartment building, and 66 market-rate units in a new four-level building with a rooftop courtyard garden. The team, which includes CIM Group, Domus Development and Zeiden Properties, is proposing a total of about 23,000 square feet of retail on the 800 block as well. This projects probably more doable than the Rubicon’s proposal judging by the rending but it’s a safe bet that having David Taylor take on this troubled area means it will get done. Their experience includes Sheraton Grand and 800 J Lofts here in Sacramento.
Mixed Use Development – 700 and 800 Blocks of K and L Streets
Bridge Housing Corp. of San Francisco along with Saca Development and Bagatelos Development, LLC has proposed building 360 “green” housing units, 33,000 sq. ft. of street facing retail, 48,000 sq. ft. of office space, and 34,000 sq. ft. of terraced open space and courtyards on all three development opportunity sites. Bridge Housing has lots of experience but none to speak of in Sacramento.
Promenade on K Street
Sacramento’s D&S Development competing for just one of the parcels and has a concept of 136 housing units in a four-story building known as “Promenade on K Street”. The proposal recommends removing the rear portion of the long narrow retail space to create 37,480 sq. ft. of more desirable retail space. The space created along the alley would become a four-story residential building over podium parking to provide for 136 new affordable housing units. The development team has received Letters of Intent from several retail and entertainment tenants. D&S Development experience includes Old Sac iLofts, Globe Mills, and the Historic Maydestone Apartments set to begin construction in Summer 2010. D&S Development has also lined up financing with Umpqua Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.
The teams will present their projects to a five-member panel Thursday the 25th which could lead to a recommendation to the City Council on a preferred choice by May. The winner could be awarded millions of dollars in redevelopment funds to bring its project to fruition.
More info about the proposals here
Thursday, August 16, 2007
More setbacks on the 700/800 Block
K Street land deal hits legal setback
Sacramento is unlikely to succeed in bid to force developer to swap property, judge finds.
By Terri Hardy - Bee Staff Writer
A judge's ruling Wednesday dealt a major blow to development of two critical blocks on the K Street mall in downtown Sacramento, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal battle or an eminent domain fight.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster found that the city wasn't likely to prevail in a lawsuit to force a development team headed by property owner Moe Mohanna to go through with an agreed-upon land swap.
The city wanted the exchange so that a development team fronted by Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie furniture retail chain, could revamp the historic buildings in the 700 block of K Street and install them with well-known retailers.
The exchange would have paved the way for Mohanna's team to transform the street's 800 block with condos and retail.
But McMaster found that a fire and demolition of buildings in the 800 block lowered the property value and wouldn't have resulted in a fair exchange.
The city's lawsuit still is pending, but the ruling will trigger discussions on the next steps, said James Gilpin, the private attorney representing the city. Options include the city using its powers of eminent domain, he said.
"We're at a fork in the road," Gilpin said. "We have to decide which way to go to get K Street redeveloped."
Gilpin said it was possible to go forward with the lawsuit, and noted that not all evidence had gone to McMasters before he made his ruling.
Mayor Heather Fargo, through a spokeswoman, said she hadn't been briefed on the ruling and could not comment.
The attorney representing the Mohanna team called the lawsuit "frivolous" and said the victory Wednesday all but kills the land swap. And, they said they are preparing for a fight.
"If they try it (eminent domain) we'll be ready for that, said Myron Moskovitz, attorney for Mohanna and his team.
"My clients want to see the redevelopment of K Street. They have the ability to redevelop the 700 block themselves, and they'd still like to do that."
If the case goes forward, it would likely take a year to go to trial, Moskovitz said.
City officials have said the land swap is crucial to make redevelopment possible in the area. The city already has spent more than $24 million to speed up the process by buying property in the area from other owners and relocating merchants.
"At this point we're left with scattered parcels of ownership," said Leslie Fritzche, the city's downtown development manager. "We're left to explore our options. Do we fold our tent, lick our wounds and go home? I don't know."
Wednesday's setback could also mean developer Zeiden pulls out of the project. Fritzche said Zeiden has so far remained committed, but they would have to look now at whether he wants to go forward if land can't be consolidated.
Zeiden's spokeswoman, Wendy Hoyt, did not return a call for comment.
Redeveloping the 700 and 800 blocks, among downtown's most blighted blocks, is crucial and the main concern for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said executive director Michael Ault.
"Whatever the ruling, progress has got to be the priority," Ault said. "Further legal wrangling impacts our ability to move forward."
Movement has been slow in coming. In January 2005, the city took a get-tough approach.
It gave property owners of the run-down businesses and empty lots a tight deadline to produce viable redevelopment plans or face the possibility that the city would appropriate the property under the power known as eminent domain.
In court Wednesday, the Mohanna team's attorney complained to the judge about the tactics, and said his clients didn't like the land swap deal.
"(The city) said 'you're not good enough, we're going to take it away from you and if you don't like it we'll use eminent domain,' " Moskovitz said. "They were under pressure, under threats."
After a fire in November and subsequent demolition, Mohanna has said banks have been unwilling to transfer $4 million in loans he has on property in the 700 block to the 800 block. Mohanna went to the city to ask for more financial help but that was rejected, he said.
"My client was left with rubble," Moskovitz said.
At issue in Wednesday's hearing was a legal document the city filed against the properties that were to be part of the exchange. The "lis pendens" warn the land is tied up in litigation and make it difficult for properties to be sold or for money to be borrowed on the land.
The judge ruled that the lis pendens be removed.
Mohanna also has filed a countersuit against the city, seeking to recover damages. His attorney said he's losing $40,000 in monthly rent from tenants the city evicted.
And Mohanna is suing Zeiden, claiming the developer was negligent in his oversight of his buildings, leading to the fire.
Despite these complaints, Mohanna's team hasn't said officially it won't accept the land swap.
"We're not claiming the agreement is terminated," Moskovitz told the judge. "Maybe we will, and maybe we won't."
Sacramento is unlikely to succeed in bid to force developer to swap property, judge finds.
By Terri Hardy - Bee Staff Writer
A judge's ruling Wednesday dealt a major blow to development of two critical blocks on the K Street mall in downtown Sacramento, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal battle or an eminent domain fight.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster found that the city wasn't likely to prevail in a lawsuit to force a development team headed by property owner Moe Mohanna to go through with an agreed-upon land swap.
The city wanted the exchange so that a development team fronted by Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie furniture retail chain, could revamp the historic buildings in the 700 block of K Street and install them with well-known retailers.
The exchange would have paved the way for Mohanna's team to transform the street's 800 block with condos and retail.
But McMaster found that a fire and demolition of buildings in the 800 block lowered the property value and wouldn't have resulted in a fair exchange.
The city's lawsuit still is pending, but the ruling will trigger discussions on the next steps, said James Gilpin, the private attorney representing the city. Options include the city using its powers of eminent domain, he said.
"We're at a fork in the road," Gilpin said. "We have to decide which way to go to get K Street redeveloped."
Gilpin said it was possible to go forward with the lawsuit, and noted that not all evidence had gone to McMasters before he made his ruling.
Mayor Heather Fargo, through a spokeswoman, said she hadn't been briefed on the ruling and could not comment.
The attorney representing the Mohanna team called the lawsuit "frivolous" and said the victory Wednesday all but kills the land swap. And, they said they are preparing for a fight.
"If they try it (eminent domain) we'll be ready for that, said Myron Moskovitz, attorney for Mohanna and his team.
"My clients want to see the redevelopment of K Street. They have the ability to redevelop the 700 block themselves, and they'd still like to do that."
If the case goes forward, it would likely take a year to go to trial, Moskovitz said.
City officials have said the land swap is crucial to make redevelopment possible in the area. The city already has spent more than $24 million to speed up the process by buying property in the area from other owners and relocating merchants.
"At this point we're left with scattered parcels of ownership," said Leslie Fritzche, the city's downtown development manager. "We're left to explore our options. Do we fold our tent, lick our wounds and go home? I don't know."
Wednesday's setback could also mean developer Zeiden pulls out of the project. Fritzche said Zeiden has so far remained committed, but they would have to look now at whether he wants to go forward if land can't be consolidated.
Zeiden's spokeswoman, Wendy Hoyt, did not return a call for comment.
Redeveloping the 700 and 800 blocks, among downtown's most blighted blocks, is crucial and the main concern for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said executive director Michael Ault.
"Whatever the ruling, progress has got to be the priority," Ault said. "Further legal wrangling impacts our ability to move forward."
Movement has been slow in coming. In January 2005, the city took a get-tough approach.
It gave property owners of the run-down businesses and empty lots a tight deadline to produce viable redevelopment plans or face the possibility that the city would appropriate the property under the power known as eminent domain.
In court Wednesday, the Mohanna team's attorney complained to the judge about the tactics, and said his clients didn't like the land swap deal.
"(The city) said 'you're not good enough, we're going to take it away from you and if you don't like it we'll use eminent domain,' " Moskovitz said. "They were under pressure, under threats."
After a fire in November and subsequent demolition, Mohanna has said banks have been unwilling to transfer $4 million in loans he has on property in the 700 block to the 800 block. Mohanna went to the city to ask for more financial help but that was rejected, he said.
"My client was left with rubble," Moskovitz said.
At issue in Wednesday's hearing was a legal document the city filed against the properties that were to be part of the exchange. The "lis pendens" warn the land is tied up in litigation and make it difficult for properties to be sold or for money to be borrowed on the land.
The judge ruled that the lis pendens be removed.
Mohanna also has filed a countersuit against the city, seeking to recover damages. His attorney said he's losing $40,000 in monthly rent from tenants the city evicted.
And Mohanna is suing Zeiden, claiming the developer was negligent in his oversight of his buildings, leading to the fire.
Despite these complaints, Mohanna's team hasn't said officially it won't accept the land swap.
"We're not claiming the agreement is terminated," Moskovitz told the judge. "Maybe we will, and maybe we won't."
Monday, November 17, 2008
Newest K Street Bump in the Road..Calling Mike Heller!
That bump in the K Streets plans mine as well be a 20-foot tall concrete wall.
If Zieden does pull out...I would love to see Mike Heller jump in and try to work his magic. I read someone on another website mention his name for this project and it all made sense.
While I really understand Zieden's frustration with the whole process, which I think all of us with an interest in the central city have as well, I believe there needs to be a local angle on this if things go sour with Zieden.
We've seen Heller turn out some great projects, particularly in the re-use area, from the Blue Cue Building and East End Lofts to the MARRS building that have become staples of our urban fabric. I can't think of another person at this point I would have more faith in that Heller.
Heller has commented many times in the past how we wants to help bring new life to the central city, which he has, but here is his chance to really pull off something really special if he can put the pieces together for K Street like he has in areas of Midtown.
If you think Heller could be the man for this job. Feel free to tell him yourself and let him know.
mjheller@hellerpacific.com
____________________________________________________________________
Sacramento's K Street redevelopment faces new hurdle
By Mary Lynne Vellinga
Published: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008 | Page 4B
Joe Zeiden: Savior of K Street. Maybe, maybe not.
The path is finally clear for the Southern California furniture retailer to transform the bedraggled 700 block of downtown Sacramento's K Street into a spiffy row of upscale stores. It's not clear, though, that Zeiden still intends to do so – at least not without more money from the city's treasury.
Zeiden had been blocked for at least four years by the property's longtime owner Moe Mohanna, who had refused to sell. Last month, the city and Mohanna reached a settlement, avoiding an eminent domain trial. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency took ownership of Mohanna's nine properties on the 700 and 800 blocks, the bleakest stretch of K Street.
But Zeiden was noticeably absent from a celebratory meeting in which Sacramento's City Council approved the deal with Mohanna.
Since then, Zeiden has not responded to The Bee's attempts to contact him at the Gardena headquarters of his family's Z Gallerie furniture chain.
City officials say the severe downturn in the retail economy has prompted Zeiden to rethink his K Street proposal. He likely will ask the city to kick in more money before he moves forward, said Leslie Fritzsche, Sacramento's downtown development manager.
Fritzsche said her office has been "in somewhat regular communication with Zeiden."
"I think it's important to note that he's still interested in moving forward," Fritzsche said. "We expect to get a proposal from him in pretty short order. We're actually expecting it in the next week or so.
"To be candid," she added, "I anticipate the (subsidy) request he might have would be a little bit larger than before."
Fritzsche said city officials have begun exploring other options for the property, just in case. This could include putting tenants back in the mostly vacant buildings in the 700 block, so the block wouldn't be completely dead while the city waits for the market to improve.
"It is our desire to have a couple of different options working at any given time," Fritzsche said. "We don't know what Zeiden will come back with, so we definitely want to think about what other interim uses we can put the property to, and what other options exist. We need to make sure we can redevelop the properties the way people expect us to."
If Zeiden pulls out, SHRA could find itself holding vacant buildings and empty lots along K Street for years. That's what happened with the former Woolworth's store at 10th and K streets, bought by the city in 2000.
The site reopened in September as a new cabaret theater, restaurant and nightclub complex. But other buildings acquired by the city nearby remain empty.
Fritzsche said she doubts it would take that long to rebuild the 700 and 800 blocks of K. She noted that an arts cinema proposal for 10th and K was far along before it was shelved because of opposition from people worried about it competing with Tower Theater.
Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the city's extensive holdings on K Street now give it an opportunity to contemplate a grander redevelopment project encompassing both blocks.
"The priority at this point is clearly waiting to hear from Zeiden, but I think we need to look at that entire stretch of K Street," Ault said.
Zeiden has been working since 2004 on his plan to revamp the historic buildings on the south side of K Street's 700 block. He intends to move his Z Gallerie store out of Downtown Plaza and use it as an anchor for a row of retail tenants.
He's done similar developments in cities such as San Diego and Pasadena.
In 2005, Zeiden's team said it had letters of intent from such retailers as Urban Outfitters and Sur La Table – firsts for Sacramento. But as the years passed, Urban Outfitters opened a store near Arden Fair mall and Sur La Table went into the new Fountains at Roseville, which also includes a Z Gallerie.
The city already has spent more than $40 million in redevelopment funds gaining control of K Street, with more than half to directly benefit Zeiden's effort.
Among the expenditures: about $20 million to acquire properties that the city originally planned to swap with Mohanna for parcels Zeiden needed.
That swap fell through, and the city eventually reached agreement with Mohanna to buy his nine properties on the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street for another $18.6 million.
The transactions leave the city in control of the entire south side of the 700 block and much of the 800 block. Zeiden's project doesn't include the properties in the 800 block. The city is negotiating with another partnership that includes Mohanna, which eventually may buy them back for a hotel and housing project.
Zeiden also bought three properties in the 700 block but eventually complained that they had become too expensive for him to hold while waiting for a resolution with Mohanna.
The city bought those three properties in August and also reimbursed Zeiden for his carrying costs. Total price tag: $2.1 million.
In addition to all of these expenditures to acquire pieces of K Street, the city previously agreed to subsidize Zeiden's project with another $4 million in redevelopment funds.
Fritzsche said Zeiden no longer thinks that sum will be enough.
In a June 2008 letter to the city, Zeiden complained about the long wait. He said his company would pull out of the K Street project if the city didn't take the properties off his hands.
"During the past six years we have spent significant money as well as countless hours for which we have seen little or no progress toward reaching our common goal," he wrote.
If Zieden does pull out...I would love to see Mike Heller jump in and try to work his magic. I read someone on another website mention his name for this project and it all made sense.
While I really understand Zieden's frustration with the whole process, which I think all of us with an interest in the central city have as well, I believe there needs to be a local angle on this if things go sour with Zieden.
We've seen Heller turn out some great projects, particularly in the re-use area, from the Blue Cue Building and East End Lofts to the MARRS building that have become staples of our urban fabric. I can't think of another person at this point I would have more faith in that Heller.
Heller has commented many times in the past how we wants to help bring new life to the central city, which he has, but here is his chance to really pull off something really special if he can put the pieces together for K Street like he has in areas of Midtown.
If you think Heller could be the man for this job. Feel free to tell him yourself and let him know.
mjheller@hellerpacific.com
____________________________________________________________________
Sacramento's K Street redevelopment faces new hurdle
By Mary Lynne Vellinga
Published: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008 | Page 4B
Joe Zeiden: Savior of K Street. Maybe, maybe not.
The path is finally clear for the Southern California furniture retailer to transform the bedraggled 700 block of downtown Sacramento's K Street into a spiffy row of upscale stores. It's not clear, though, that Zeiden still intends to do so – at least not without more money from the city's treasury.
Zeiden had been blocked for at least four years by the property's longtime owner Moe Mohanna, who had refused to sell. Last month, the city and Mohanna reached a settlement, avoiding an eminent domain trial. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency took ownership of Mohanna's nine properties on the 700 and 800 blocks, the bleakest stretch of K Street.
But Zeiden was noticeably absent from a celebratory meeting in which Sacramento's City Council approved the deal with Mohanna.
Since then, Zeiden has not responded to The Bee's attempts to contact him at the Gardena headquarters of his family's Z Gallerie furniture chain.
City officials say the severe downturn in the retail economy has prompted Zeiden to rethink his K Street proposal. He likely will ask the city to kick in more money before he moves forward, said Leslie Fritzsche, Sacramento's downtown development manager.
Fritzsche said her office has been "in somewhat regular communication with Zeiden."
"I think it's important to note that he's still interested in moving forward," Fritzsche said. "We expect to get a proposal from him in pretty short order. We're actually expecting it in the next week or so.
"To be candid," she added, "I anticipate the (subsidy) request he might have would be a little bit larger than before."
Fritzsche said city officials have begun exploring other options for the property, just in case. This could include putting tenants back in the mostly vacant buildings in the 700 block, so the block wouldn't be completely dead while the city waits for the market to improve.
"It is our desire to have a couple of different options working at any given time," Fritzsche said. "We don't know what Zeiden will come back with, so we definitely want to think about what other interim uses we can put the property to, and what other options exist. We need to make sure we can redevelop the properties the way people expect us to."
If Zeiden pulls out, SHRA could find itself holding vacant buildings and empty lots along K Street for years. That's what happened with the former Woolworth's store at 10th and K streets, bought by the city in 2000.
The site reopened in September as a new cabaret theater, restaurant and nightclub complex. But other buildings acquired by the city nearby remain empty.
Fritzsche said she doubts it would take that long to rebuild the 700 and 800 blocks of K. She noted that an arts cinema proposal for 10th and K was far along before it was shelved because of opposition from people worried about it competing with Tower Theater.
Michael Ault, executive director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, said the city's extensive holdings on K Street now give it an opportunity to contemplate a grander redevelopment project encompassing both blocks.
"The priority at this point is clearly waiting to hear from Zeiden, but I think we need to look at that entire stretch of K Street," Ault said.
Zeiden has been working since 2004 on his plan to revamp the historic buildings on the south side of K Street's 700 block. He intends to move his Z Gallerie store out of Downtown Plaza and use it as an anchor for a row of retail tenants.
He's done similar developments in cities such as San Diego and Pasadena.
In 2005, Zeiden's team said it had letters of intent from such retailers as Urban Outfitters and Sur La Table – firsts for Sacramento. But as the years passed, Urban Outfitters opened a store near Arden Fair mall and Sur La Table went into the new Fountains at Roseville, which also includes a Z Gallerie.
The city already has spent more than $40 million in redevelopment funds gaining control of K Street, with more than half to directly benefit Zeiden's effort.
Among the expenditures: about $20 million to acquire properties that the city originally planned to swap with Mohanna for parcels Zeiden needed.
That swap fell through, and the city eventually reached agreement with Mohanna to buy his nine properties on the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street for another $18.6 million.
The transactions leave the city in control of the entire south side of the 700 block and much of the 800 block. Zeiden's project doesn't include the properties in the 800 block. The city is negotiating with another partnership that includes Mohanna, which eventually may buy them back for a hotel and housing project.
Zeiden also bought three properties in the 700 block but eventually complained that they had become too expensive for him to hold while waiting for a resolution with Mohanna.
The city bought those three properties in August and also reimbursed Zeiden for his carrying costs. Total price tag: $2.1 million.
In addition to all of these expenditures to acquire pieces of K Street, the city previously agreed to subsidize Zeiden's project with another $4 million in redevelopment funds.
Fritzsche said Zeiden no longer thinks that sum will be enough.
In a June 2008 letter to the city, Zeiden complained about the long wait. He said his company would pull out of the K Street project if the city didn't take the properties off his hands.
"During the past six years we have spent significant money as well as countless hours for which we have seen little or no progress toward reaching our common goal," he wrote.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
City Sues K Street Developers
It's about damn time.
This land swap agreement was supposed to happen before the year ended once the city acquired certain properties to be swapped agreed to by both Zeiden and Mohanna. The city has purchased these properties and once again Mohanna seems to be the thorn in the side.
Saca and Lambeth are named in the suit as well, even though I think Mohanna and Lambeth are the actually owners. The main player and problem has always been Mohanna though.
I've always been under the thought, the sooner Mo Mohanna owns less property in downtown, esp K Street, the better we will be.
The city has spend way too much time and money in an attempt to revamp K Street to let this fall apart at the last second. The 700 block was to be open for holiday shopping this year, but I can't imagine that is likey now.
People I talked to a short time ago said the agreement that was signed is legally binding, so we will see how this turns out.
____________________________________________________________________________________
City sues K Street developers
Sacramento Business Journal - 2:50 PM PST Tuesday February 13, 2007
by Michael Shaw
After a breakdown in negotiations, the city of Sacramento on Tuesday sued several owners of property in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street, asking the court to enforce a land swap that was supposed to ease redevelopment on the pedestrian-oriented street.
The agreement, signed in April of 2005, allows developers to own entire street frontage along a block, rather than just the scattered parcels they now control.
Moe Mohanna, who owns several parcels in the 700 block, has been reluctant to trade property after the city evicted tenants and a building he owned in 800 block was destroyed by fire. He banded together with John Lambeth and developer John Saca to build high rises and retail shops in the 800 block. All three are named as defendants.
The land swap was designed to transfer ownership of Mohanna's and others' parcels in the 700 block to furniture magnate Joe Zeiden for a new Z Gallerie store and other retail shops. Zeiden is eager to trade parcels, said his representative, Wendy Hoyt. Zeiden is not named in the suit.
In return, the "Saca team" would receive the 800 block, where Zeiden owned property at 812 K Street, which had to be torn down due to the fire. The land swap uses the city's redevelopment agency as the go-between.
Mohanna could not be reached immediately for comment. He has said in the past he had difficulty getting his lenders to comply with the swap and was upset at losing rental income due to the evictions.
John Saca said he has no input with what the individual property owners have done.
"My hands are tied," Saca said, adding he was disappointed that he was named as a defendant. "Our deal is that I'd be the managing partner once the land was traded. Because the trade never took effect, the partnership never got formed."
The suit alleges the developers "materially breached" the contract and in November "began inventing a series of excuses to avoid timely transfer," of the parcels.
The suit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, notes the city itself bought property "for values higher than market value, under threat of condemnation, and providing relocation assistance," to make the deal happen.
Hoyt said the snag is hindering the possibility of Zeiden's plan to open the new store by fall.
The city wants the agreement enforced by a judge, or barring that, unspecified damages.
This land swap agreement was supposed to happen before the year ended once the city acquired certain properties to be swapped agreed to by both Zeiden and Mohanna. The city has purchased these properties and once again Mohanna seems to be the thorn in the side.
Saca and Lambeth are named in the suit as well, even though I think Mohanna and Lambeth are the actually owners. The main player and problem has always been Mohanna though.
I've always been under the thought, the sooner Mo Mohanna owns less property in downtown, esp K Street, the better we will be.
The city has spend way too much time and money in an attempt to revamp K Street to let this fall apart at the last second. The 700 block was to be open for holiday shopping this year, but I can't imagine that is likey now.
People I talked to a short time ago said the agreement that was signed is legally binding, so we will see how this turns out.
____________________________________________________________________________________
City sues K Street developers
Sacramento Business Journal - 2:50 PM PST Tuesday February 13, 2007
by Michael Shaw
After a breakdown in negotiations, the city of Sacramento on Tuesday sued several owners of property in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street, asking the court to enforce a land swap that was supposed to ease redevelopment on the pedestrian-oriented street.
The agreement, signed in April of 2005, allows developers to own entire street frontage along a block, rather than just the scattered parcels they now control.
Moe Mohanna, who owns several parcels in the 700 block, has been reluctant to trade property after the city evicted tenants and a building he owned in 800 block was destroyed by fire. He banded together with John Lambeth and developer John Saca to build high rises and retail shops in the 800 block. All three are named as defendants.
The land swap was designed to transfer ownership of Mohanna's and others' parcels in the 700 block to furniture magnate Joe Zeiden for a new Z Gallerie store and other retail shops. Zeiden is eager to trade parcels, said his representative, Wendy Hoyt. Zeiden is not named in the suit.
In return, the "Saca team" would receive the 800 block, where Zeiden owned property at 812 K Street, which had to be torn down due to the fire. The land swap uses the city's redevelopment agency as the go-between.
Mohanna could not be reached immediately for comment. He has said in the past he had difficulty getting his lenders to comply with the swap and was upset at losing rental income due to the evictions.
John Saca said he has no input with what the individual property owners have done.
"My hands are tied," Saca said, adding he was disappointed that he was named as a defendant. "Our deal is that I'd be the managing partner once the land was traded. Because the trade never took effect, the partnership never got formed."
The suit alleges the developers "materially breached" the contract and in November "began inventing a series of excuses to avoid timely transfer," of the parcels.
The suit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, notes the city itself bought property "for values higher than market value, under threat of condemnation, and providing relocation assistance," to make the deal happen.
Hoyt said the snag is hindering the possibility of Zeiden's plan to open the new store by fall.
The city wants the agreement enforced by a judge, or barring that, unspecified damages.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
800 K & 801 L Street Development
 |
| Looking down on 800 K Street where work is under way on the Bel-Vue |
In an another amazing accomplishment, the 800 Block of K Street
is actually in the early stage of development, which includes a mixed-use project
and adaptive reuse and preservation of the 110 year old Bel-Vue. Currently the
rehabilitation of the Bel-Vue is the main focus of work right now with structural
support. The Bel-Vue was accepted to the Sacramento Historic Register
in 2016. The Kings purchased the land in January for $5.6 million. No cost has
been given for completing this project.
 |
| The Bel-Vue getting structural support |
 |
| 801 L Street will be demolished and a mixed-use building will rise |
 |
| The Bel-Vue getting structural support |
 |
| The Bel-Vue getting structural support |
 |
| 800 K project rendering, 147 apartment, 20,000 ground floor retail |
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
K Street Proposals Move Forward
It's with a tear in my eye (okay, not really) that I see 815L Street on the list of possible properties to be bought. Ah, the memories.
My only concern with the article is the worry about the cost of this. The city has 100M in redevelopment funds to use. I understand that we want to get as much as we can out of that money, but let's make damn sure it gets done this time and we don't nickel and dime the project into submission. This has been waaaaaay too long in the making.
As I wrote a short time ago, K Street should be #1 on the list of things for that 100M. Given how long K Street has suffered, 20M is a drop in the bucket. The city talkes about catalyst projects, this is the mother of all of them.
___________________________________________________________________
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14139370p-14968085c.html
Click link for a picture of the properties to be bought. (I would post it, but I don't want the big bad Sac Bee people to get mad at me again)
Council reserves $20 million for K Street revival
Eight parcels will be purchased to create housing, retail space in revitalization bid
In an effort to revitalize struggling K Street, the Sacramento City Council has set aside $20 million to purchase eight parcels in the city's central core.
Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to use redevelopment funds to acquire six parcels in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street and two others in the vicinity on L Street. Development plans call for new retail space and housing to move forward on those streets.
"This is something we need to do; it's been a long time coming," said Councilman Ray Tretheway, whose district includes downtown. "Let's get it started."
Even though Tretheway was glad to see progress, he said he was concerned about the hefty $20 million price tag.
Leslie Fritzche, the downtown division manager of the city's Economic Development Department, said separate parties owned all eight parcels and each negotiation would be private.
"We are mindful that we need to keep negotiations to the lowest dollar amount possible," Fritzche said.
City officials have said one of the biggest obstacles to pushing forward on K Street is cobbling together blocks of land from several owners to make a revitalization project possible.
It is not anticipated that existing businesses will be included in the new projects, so those redevelopment funds also will go toward relocating those merchants.
The move toward acquiring the downtown land emphasizes the city's commitment to turning around downtown.
A year ago, the city adopted a get-tough approach and gave property owners in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street a short period in which to offer development proposals. The implicit message was if progress wasn't made, the city would, as a last-resort measure, begin efforts to take the land through eminent domain.
Two proposals emerged. Area property owners Moe Mohanna and John Lambath backed one plan. The other came from Zeiden Properties, headed by Joe Zeiden, president of the Gardena-based Z Gallerie home furnishings chain.
Mohanna warned that if the city went with the Zeiden plan, he would aggressively fight attempts by the city to buy the land. The City Council decided to go forward with both developers.
The teams did not want to merge and participate in a joint venture, so the city determined Zeiden would develop the 700 block, and Mohanna/Lambath the 800 block.
The city's land purchase quest will extend beyond K Street to include portions of L Street. A consultant concluded that neither block individually contained enough real estate to make the project profitable for developers, so additional nearby property would need to be purchased or swapped.
Zeiden's proposal would focus heavily on well-known retailers on the ground floor and a modest amount of housing on the upper levels. Besides his own Z Gallerie store, Zeiden has said he can attract such shops as Borders, Sur la Table and Urban Outfitters.
The Zeiden plan emphasizes preserving the streets' historical feel by keeping buildings to two and three stories.
Details of the Mohanna/Lambath plan for the 800 block of K Street are less clear. The team lost developer Evergreen Co. and residential builder Hank Fisher and brought on developer John Saca. Because the partnership changed, it hasn't undergone the same level of financial scrutiny that the city gave Zeiden.
Over the next months, the teams will fine-tune project specifics and produce better cost estimates, Fritzche said. The city also will do a financial analysis of the Mohanna/Lambath/Saca team.
My only concern with the article is the worry about the cost of this. The city has 100M in redevelopment funds to use. I understand that we want to get as much as we can out of that money, but let's make damn sure it gets done this time and we don't nickel and dime the project into submission. This has been waaaaaay too long in the making.
As I wrote a short time ago, K Street should be #1 on the list of things for that 100M. Given how long K Street has suffered, 20M is a drop in the bucket. The city talkes about catalyst projects, this is the mother of all of them.
___________________________________________________________________
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14139370p-14968085c.html
Click link for a picture of the properties to be bought. (I would post it, but I don't want the big bad Sac Bee people to get mad at me again)
Council reserves $20 million for K Street revival
Eight parcels will be purchased to create housing, retail space in revitalization bid
In an effort to revitalize struggling K Street, the Sacramento City Council has set aside $20 million to purchase eight parcels in the city's central core.
Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to use redevelopment funds to acquire six parcels in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street and two others in the vicinity on L Street. Development plans call for new retail space and housing to move forward on those streets.
"This is something we need to do; it's been a long time coming," said Councilman Ray Tretheway, whose district includes downtown. "Let's get it started."
Even though Tretheway was glad to see progress, he said he was concerned about the hefty $20 million price tag.
Leslie Fritzche, the downtown division manager of the city's Economic Development Department, said separate parties owned all eight parcels and each negotiation would be private.
"We are mindful that we need to keep negotiations to the lowest dollar amount possible," Fritzche said.
City officials have said one of the biggest obstacles to pushing forward on K Street is cobbling together blocks of land from several owners to make a revitalization project possible.
It is not anticipated that existing businesses will be included in the new projects, so those redevelopment funds also will go toward relocating those merchants.
The move toward acquiring the downtown land emphasizes the city's commitment to turning around downtown.
A year ago, the city adopted a get-tough approach and gave property owners in the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street a short period in which to offer development proposals. The implicit message was if progress wasn't made, the city would, as a last-resort measure, begin efforts to take the land through eminent domain.
Two proposals emerged. Area property owners Moe Mohanna and John Lambath backed one plan. The other came from Zeiden Properties, headed by Joe Zeiden, president of the Gardena-based Z Gallerie home furnishings chain.
Mohanna warned that if the city went with the Zeiden plan, he would aggressively fight attempts by the city to buy the land. The City Council decided to go forward with both developers.
The teams did not want to merge and participate in a joint venture, so the city determined Zeiden would develop the 700 block, and Mohanna/Lambath the 800 block.
The city's land purchase quest will extend beyond K Street to include portions of L Street. A consultant concluded that neither block individually contained enough real estate to make the project profitable for developers, so additional nearby property would need to be purchased or swapped.
Zeiden's proposal would focus heavily on well-known retailers on the ground floor and a modest amount of housing on the upper levels. Besides his own Z Gallerie store, Zeiden has said he can attract such shops as Borders, Sur la Table and Urban Outfitters.
The Zeiden plan emphasizes preserving the streets' historical feel by keeping buildings to two and three stories.
Details of the Mohanna/Lambath plan for the 800 block of K Street are less clear. The team lost developer Evergreen Co. and residential builder Hank Fisher and brought on developer John Saca. Because the partnership changed, it hasn't undergone the same level of financial scrutiny that the city gave Zeiden.
Over the next months, the teams will fine-tune project specifics and produce better cost estimates, Fritzche said. The city also will do a financial analysis of the Mohanna/Lambath/Saca team.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
And it only took a couple decades..
It finally looks like the city is VERY VERY close to getting redevelopment happening on the 700 block of K Street
This is such and important piece of the K Street puzzle. I am a little surprised at the price of getting this done, but honestly I don't care.
It's going to take money to get this done. Retailers are not going to pay a high rent to move onto K Street right now, bottom line. It was mentioned that the rate of return for Zeiden is very low, below 5% in some cases. He could do better with no risk putting the cash in a money market fund. Thank you for investing in Sacramento, Joe.
The timeline is the new retail should be open by Octoberish next year. Just in time for holiday shopping. How great is that going to be!
One piece of info I did enjoy hearing was that a good portion of the project will include stores that can't be found else where in Sacramento. Instead of the usual Borders or B&N, Cody's Books from Berkeley has been mentioned as one of the potential tenants. I'm really hoping for an Urban Outfitters as well.
Listening to Robbie Waters talk about K Street of the past and how forward he is looking to it getting back to the vibrancy on the 50s and 60s on K Street have me goose bumps.
From the plans, the entire south side 700 block (52K Square Feet) will be new retail, along with 731 on the north side and the kiosk that might become a sidewalk cafe. I think I heard that there will be about 12 new stores when completed.
The one thing I would have rather seen is the 35K in office space be housing, but after the long wait, I can live with it. Esp with Saca and team potential providing 600 units on the 800 block.
2007 Holiday Party on K Street Mall. Hurrah!
Related Story From Last Weeks Business Jouranl
_____________________________________________________________________
City OKs subsidy for K Street revival
By Terri Hardy -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo calls the 700 block of K Street the city's "ground zero" -- one of the area's most blighted streets and crucial to its revitalization.
In a step toward its renovation, the City Council unanimously granted a developer more than $15 million in land and cash Tuesday night to transform the area. Stores are expected to open in October 2007.
"This is a key project and a key block to get done," Fargo said. "This is the entry point of downtown."
Under the deal approved Tuesday, the city will grant a development team headed by Joe Zeiden a subsidy of $11.1 million in land and $4 million in cash. The Zeiden team will spend $17.6 million.
The project includes 52,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 35,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors and a flagship, 10,000-square-foot Z Gallerie Store. Zeiden owns the Z Gallerie chain.
The Zeiden team has promised destination retail shops unique to the city, including Sur La Table, American Apparel and Lucky Brand Jeans.
"This has been three years in the making," Zeiden said. As part of its plan, the Zeiden team has pledged to improve the historic storefronts in keeping with federal rehabilitation standards.
Kay Knepprath, a local preservation activist, said she was pleased with the renderings for the project, including the use of a variety of facades. She called the street "one of the city's most important blocks."
Knepprath noted the plan did not call for housing, although the Zeiden team had said they would include some living space.
For more than two decades the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street have decayed. Last year, the city took a get-tough approach, giving property owners a tight deadline to produce viable development plans.
In the end, the council selected two developers for the task -- the Zeiden team for the 700 block and a team headed by developer John Saca for the 800 block.
The Saca portion envisions two 300-foot towers, with 600 units of housing and ground-floor retail. The project will take longer than the Zeiden project because it will require an environmental impact report.
Because the two groups did not want a joint venture, a city consultant concluded the major stumbling block would be land acquisition from a host of property owners. And to make the deal pencil out for both development teams, a city consultant said properties beyond K Street would need to come into play.
City financial assistance also will be necessary, officials said. In January, the city began talks to purchase eight parcels within the two blocks. To date, six have been purchased or are under contract. Eminent domain proceedings have been started on the 800 K St. property and negotiations are continuing for 704 K St.
This is such and important piece of the K Street puzzle. I am a little surprised at the price of getting this done, but honestly I don't care.
It's going to take money to get this done. Retailers are not going to pay a high rent to move onto K Street right now, bottom line. It was mentioned that the rate of return for Zeiden is very low, below 5% in some cases. He could do better with no risk putting the cash in a money market fund. Thank you for investing in Sacramento, Joe.
The timeline is the new retail should be open by Octoberish next year. Just in time for holiday shopping. How great is that going to be!
One piece of info I did enjoy hearing was that a good portion of the project will include stores that can't be found else where in Sacramento. Instead of the usual Borders or B&N, Cody's Books from Berkeley has been mentioned as one of the potential tenants. I'm really hoping for an Urban Outfitters as well.
Listening to Robbie Waters talk about K Street of the past and how forward he is looking to it getting back to the vibrancy on the 50s and 60s on K Street have me goose bumps.
From the plans, the entire south side 700 block (52K Square Feet) will be new retail, along with 731 on the north side and the kiosk that might become a sidewalk cafe. I think I heard that there will be about 12 new stores when completed.
The one thing I would have rather seen is the 35K in office space be housing, but after the long wait, I can live with it. Esp with Saca and team potential providing 600 units on the 800 block.
2007 Holiday Party on K Street Mall. Hurrah!
Related Story From Last Weeks Business Jouranl
_____________________________________________________________________
City OKs subsidy for K Street revival
By Terri Hardy -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:01 am PDT Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo calls the 700 block of K Street the city's "ground zero" -- one of the area's most blighted streets and crucial to its revitalization.
In a step toward its renovation, the City Council unanimously granted a developer more than $15 million in land and cash Tuesday night to transform the area. Stores are expected to open in October 2007.
"This is a key project and a key block to get done," Fargo said. "This is the entry point of downtown."
Under the deal approved Tuesday, the city will grant a development team headed by Joe Zeiden a subsidy of $11.1 million in land and $4 million in cash. The Zeiden team will spend $17.6 million.
The project includes 52,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 35,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors and a flagship, 10,000-square-foot Z Gallerie Store. Zeiden owns the Z Gallerie chain.
The Zeiden team has promised destination retail shops unique to the city, including Sur La Table, American Apparel and Lucky Brand Jeans.
"This has been three years in the making," Zeiden said. As part of its plan, the Zeiden team has pledged to improve the historic storefronts in keeping with federal rehabilitation standards.
Kay Knepprath, a local preservation activist, said she was pleased with the renderings for the project, including the use of a variety of facades. She called the street "one of the city's most important blocks."
Knepprath noted the plan did not call for housing, although the Zeiden team had said they would include some living space.
For more than two decades the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street have decayed. Last year, the city took a get-tough approach, giving property owners a tight deadline to produce viable development plans.
In the end, the council selected two developers for the task -- the Zeiden team for the 700 block and a team headed by developer John Saca for the 800 block.
The Saca portion envisions two 300-foot towers, with 600 units of housing and ground-floor retail. The project will take longer than the Zeiden project because it will require an environmental impact report.
Because the two groups did not want a joint venture, a city consultant concluded the major stumbling block would be land acquisition from a host of property owners. And to make the deal pencil out for both development teams, a city consultant said properties beyond K Street would need to come into play.
City financial assistance also will be necessary, officials said. In January, the city began talks to purchase eight parcels within the two blocks. To date, six have been purchased or are under contract. Eminent domain proceedings have been started on the 800 K St. property and negotiations are continuing for 704 K St.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Good & Bad
Let’s start with the good. CIM Group Inc. in partner with David Taylor plan to submit a development proposal for the empty 700 - 800 blocks of K Street which are city-owned, according to Taylor Interests and the city. With Sacramento CIM investments in the hundreds of millions of dollars, they could also be the only company with any desire to buy Westfield’s Downtown Plaza and transforming it into a more urban-orientated shopping center. Currently CIM’s Sacramento investments include 800 J Street, the 26-story “Park Plaza” office building across from Cesar Chavez Park, a partnerships in Sheraton Grand Hotel, Cosmopolitan Theater, and new nightclubs and restaurants on K Street. Currently both CIM and Taylor have partnered up with Gerry Kamilos in an arena proposal for the Railyards which seems to have strong interest by both the NBA and the City. CIM has also been chosen to lead development for the former “Towers” site on Capitol Mall and has committed $165 million to the project but is currently waiting for market conditions to improve before moving forward.
The bad news is the Hard Rock Café in Downtown Plaza that opened in 1997 is going to close at the end of March when its lease expires. It’s being reported that this is happening as a cost cutting measure but it was just last week a new Hard Rock Cafe opened up in Seattle.
As much as I am not a fan of how the 800 J Street building looks from the street, it has become a great success with its ground floor retail occupied and nearly all the apartment units above rented out. If you look at CIM history of “urban renaissance” development, it looks as though they have both the experience and deep pockets that Sacramento needs to develop downtowns retail and housing.
The bad news is the Hard Rock Café in Downtown Plaza that opened in 1997 is going to close at the end of March when its lease expires. It’s being reported that this is happening as a cost cutting measure but it was just last week a new Hard Rock Cafe opened up in Seattle.
As much as I am not a fan of how the 800 J Street building looks from the street, it has become a great success with its ground floor retail occupied and nearly all the apartment units above rented out. If you look at CIM history of “urban renaissance” development, it looks as though they have both the experience and deep pockets that Sacramento needs to develop downtowns retail and housing.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
City considers eminent domain for K Street
Late get this up, but IMO, They should have done this last year when Mo started his latest crap. Continuing to negotiate with him will yield the same results as the past 10 years. The games he's playing need to stop now.
Hopefully this means they will just buy him out instead of the swap. By buying the property, you lessen Mohanna's grip on DT that much more.
___________________________________________________________________________________
City considers eminent domain for K Street
With no development agreement in sight, landowner vows to fight attempt
By Terri Hardy - thardy@sacbee.com
As the future of struggling K Street hangs in the balance, Sacramento city leaders said Monday they are moving to wrest control of key blighted properties from landowner Moe Mohanna and his team.
Following years of talks on development plans, nasty court battles and no agreement in recent negotiations with Mohanna to jumpstart revitalization, the City Council will vote Dec. 11 on using eminent domain, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said.
At the same time, Dangberg said the city would continue working for a settlement to avoid taking the property.
"We believe it's necessary to move forward on all fronts," Dangberg said. "K Street is too important."
The Mohanna team will fight the eminent domain attempt, said Myron Moskovitz, the partnership's attorney. Moskovitz said the group was stunned by the city's tactics because it believed a deal was near.
"Wham, out of the blue, the city pulls this," Moskovitz said. "I'm sure the city is expecting that (Mohanna) will roll over, but that's not going to happen. They're not going to condemn that property."
Even if a compromise could be crafted, Mohanna's team has no developer on board. John Saca pulled out of the partnership in late 2006, and Mohanna is in discussions to bring a builder and developing consultant on board, Moskovitz said.
At the heart of the battle between the city and Mohanna is a complex land exchange focusing on properties on and near the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.
Under the original plan, Mohanna's team would develop the 800 block of K Street with condos and retail.
Another development group, led by Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie furniture retail chain, would revamp historic buildings on the 700 block and bring in retailers.
The city already has spent $24 million acquiring some parcels necessary to the swap and relocating tenants.
In recent negotiations, Mohanna said he wanted to develop the 700 block, but that request was rejected, Moskovitz said. Then, he said, Mohanna put together a plan with retail, parking, potential residential and a grocery store, but the city said it wanted a scaled-back proposal.
"Moe puts together this beautiful, beautiful plan, and the city says no, they want something small with four or five stories, a minor project," Moskovitz said. "Moe then says he wants the potential for a future high-rise and (City Manager Ray) Kerridge said we'd meet to discuss engineering details."
Since September, Mohanna and his lawyer have had several meetings with top city officials, including Kerridge, Mayor Heather Fargo and City Attorney Eileen Teichert.
"In my opinion, the time has come for both parties to reach agreement during the next two weeks or ask the City Council at the Dec. 11 hearing to start the legal process to acquire the properties," Kerridge said in a news release.
Business leader John Lambeth, a minority partner in Mohanna's partnership, said in an e-mail he has not been involved in the negotiations, and he's disappointed progress has not been made.
"I will continue to make sure that my minority ownership will not be an impediment to the much-needed redevelopment of K Street," he wrote.
Talks between the city and Mohanna about revitalizing his properties began in 2001, said Leslie Fritzsche, the city's downtown redevelopment manager.
After threats of eminent domain were used, Mohanna put together a development team, and the council decided on using both Mohanna and Zeiden to transform K Street.
Last year, Mohanna and Zeiden agreed to the land swap. However, the deal unraveled last November after a fire damaged buildings on the 800 block. The buildings were later demolished.
Mohanna and his team declined to move forward, arguing that the property value was lowered and the exchange would not be fair.
In February, the city sued Mohanna and his team, asking a judge to compel them to complete the land swap. In August, a judge ruled the city wasn't likely to prevail in the lawsuit because the properties Mohanna was to receive had undergone a "material adverse change."
The city in August said it would pay Mohanna's partnership $11.6 million for his properties, but that offer was rejected, Fritzsche said.
The overarching lawsuit continues.
On Monday, the city amended its complaint against Mohanna's partnership, asking a judge to order them either to move forward or officially terminate the agreement.
"We've been in limbo," Dangberg said.
In the meantime, Zeiden's plans are on hold. Because he does not control the 700 block, Zeiden had to cancel preliminary commitments he'd captured from retail tenants.
If the council moves forward with eminent domain, it would add yet another legal layer to the city's dealings with Mohanna.
The eminent domain request would go before a judge for approval, a step that could take six to eight months, Dangberg said. If the judge approves the request, development could proceed while a jury deliberated on the amount to pay the landowners.
Negotiations could continue this week. But Moskovitz vowed the partnership will file additional lawsuits against the city, saying the threatened condemnation means Mohanna will be unable to secure long-term tenants for his properties.
Mohanna already has sued the city to recover damages, including the loss of thousands of dollars in rent from tenants the city evicted.
And Mohanna is suing Zeiden, claiming the developer was negligent in his oversight of the buildings, leading to the fire.
Hopefully this means they will just buy him out instead of the swap. By buying the property, you lessen Mohanna's grip on DT that much more.
___________________________________________________________________________________
City considers eminent domain for K Street
With no development agreement in sight, landowner vows to fight attempt
By Terri Hardy - thardy@sacbee.com
As the future of struggling K Street hangs in the balance, Sacramento city leaders said Monday they are moving to wrest control of key blighted properties from landowner Moe Mohanna and his team.
Following years of talks on development plans, nasty court battles and no agreement in recent negotiations with Mohanna to jumpstart revitalization, the City Council will vote Dec. 11 on using eminent domain, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said.
At the same time, Dangberg said the city would continue working for a settlement to avoid taking the property.
"We believe it's necessary to move forward on all fronts," Dangberg said. "K Street is too important."
The Mohanna team will fight the eminent domain attempt, said Myron Moskovitz, the partnership's attorney. Moskovitz said the group was stunned by the city's tactics because it believed a deal was near.
"Wham, out of the blue, the city pulls this," Moskovitz said. "I'm sure the city is expecting that (Mohanna) will roll over, but that's not going to happen. They're not going to condemn that property."
Even if a compromise could be crafted, Mohanna's team has no developer on board. John Saca pulled out of the partnership in late 2006, and Mohanna is in discussions to bring a builder and developing consultant on board, Moskovitz said.
At the heart of the battle between the city and Mohanna is a complex land exchange focusing on properties on and near the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.
Under the original plan, Mohanna's team would develop the 800 block of K Street with condos and retail.
Another development group, led by Joe Zeiden, owner of the Z Gallerie furniture retail chain, would revamp historic buildings on the 700 block and bring in retailers.
The city already has spent $24 million acquiring some parcels necessary to the swap and relocating tenants.
In recent negotiations, Mohanna said he wanted to develop the 700 block, but that request was rejected, Moskovitz said. Then, he said, Mohanna put together a plan with retail, parking, potential residential and a grocery store, but the city said it wanted a scaled-back proposal.
"Moe puts together this beautiful, beautiful plan, and the city says no, they want something small with four or five stories, a minor project," Moskovitz said. "Moe then says he wants the potential for a future high-rise and (City Manager Ray) Kerridge said we'd meet to discuss engineering details."
Since September, Mohanna and his lawyer have had several meetings with top city officials, including Kerridge, Mayor Heather Fargo and City Attorney Eileen Teichert.
"In my opinion, the time has come for both parties to reach agreement during the next two weeks or ask the City Council at the Dec. 11 hearing to start the legal process to acquire the properties," Kerridge said in a news release.
Business leader John Lambeth, a minority partner in Mohanna's partnership, said in an e-mail he has not been involved in the negotiations, and he's disappointed progress has not been made.
"I will continue to make sure that my minority ownership will not be an impediment to the much-needed redevelopment of K Street," he wrote.
Talks between the city and Mohanna about revitalizing his properties began in 2001, said Leslie Fritzsche, the city's downtown redevelopment manager.
After threats of eminent domain were used, Mohanna put together a development team, and the council decided on using both Mohanna and Zeiden to transform K Street.
Last year, Mohanna and Zeiden agreed to the land swap. However, the deal unraveled last November after a fire damaged buildings on the 800 block. The buildings were later demolished.
Mohanna and his team declined to move forward, arguing that the property value was lowered and the exchange would not be fair.
In February, the city sued Mohanna and his team, asking a judge to compel them to complete the land swap. In August, a judge ruled the city wasn't likely to prevail in the lawsuit because the properties Mohanna was to receive had undergone a "material adverse change."
The city in August said it would pay Mohanna's partnership $11.6 million for his properties, but that offer was rejected, Fritzsche said.
The overarching lawsuit continues.
On Monday, the city amended its complaint against Mohanna's partnership, asking a judge to order them either to move forward or officially terminate the agreement.
"We've been in limbo," Dangberg said.
In the meantime, Zeiden's plans are on hold. Because he does not control the 700 block, Zeiden had to cancel preliminary commitments he'd captured from retail tenants.
If the council moves forward with eminent domain, it would add yet another legal layer to the city's dealings with Mohanna.
The eminent domain request would go before a judge for approval, a step that could take six to eight months, Dangberg said. If the judge approves the request, development could proceed while a jury deliberated on the amount to pay the landowners.
Negotiations could continue this week. But Moskovitz vowed the partnership will file additional lawsuits against the city, saying the threatened condemnation means Mohanna will be unable to secure long-term tenants for his properties.
Mohanna already has sued the city to recover damages, including the loss of thousands of dollars in rent from tenants the city evicted.
And Mohanna is suing Zeiden, claiming the developer was negligent in his oversight of the buildings, leading to the fire.
Monday, May 06, 2019
800 Block of K Construction
 |
| 800 K Street and 8th Street |
 |
| Bel-Vue apartment getting exterior work done |
 |
| 8th Street looking north towards the Bel-Vue apartments |
 |
| 8th & L Street where the one of the structures are collapsing |
|
| Rendering of 800 K/L block properties mixed-use development |
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
City Redevelopement Subsidy Choices
I think Teri Hardy read my blog and got an idea for this story.
Last week, I wrote about wanting to see what else is out there vying for redevelopment money, well here it is.
Taken from SacBee.com
Dude, that 114M went by FAST. Where did the other 40M go?
- 28M 700 and 800 K Street
- 9.9M 926 J Street
- 475K Imax
That's only 38M.....They say 35M is left over..differance of 40M from the 114M. SOmething is missing. I know the Crocker is getting money, but I can't imagine it's 40M
Unfortunately, K Street is taking A LOT of the money, but that should come as no surprise and is WELL worth it. It needs to stay the #1 choice.
If I had to spend the money, I would have to lean toward anything with housing and K Street. So that puts me at #3, #7, #10, and the remaining amout to whatever 10th and K needs and maybe a little toward Downtown Plaza. I haven't even heard of the 900 J and K Street block project, but I'd have to rank that one pretty high since it's housing and on J and K Street
I have to imagine that The Towers will get it done without the 10M. I don't think K Street "beautification" is needed. If they just get 700, 800 and 1000 redeveloped, that'll do wonders for now.
Mainstream theaters do bring a lot of people, but I still want to see live theater at 10th and K. Maybe there a way to incorporate both into 10th and K? I could do without the Paragary "flagship" restaurant
The UPN studios could be cool and would "only" cost 1M. If it's the building I am think of accross from the old Marilyn's building, I have always thought that building would a great Sacramento MOMA down the road.
The Docks area waterfont park sounds awesome and would LOVE to see it, but I think it's one of those projects that is quite a few years off and can be included in the 2009 funds. Plus, spending all 35M on it probably wouldn't be the best idea.
___________________________________________________________________
Tough subsidy choices for city
Requests for help on projects dwarf the $35 million available.
By Terri Hardy -- Bee Staff Writer
From hotels to condos to rehabbing Sacramento's Downtown Plaza, a flood of proposed development projects are pouring into the city.
These major projects also come with requests for city subsidies totaling more than $116 million, and more proposals are expected. The problem: The city's downtown redevelopment fund has only about $35 million remaining.
"We don't have enough money to cover projects on our wish list, at least right now," said Mayor Heather Fargo.
Last week, the owner of the Downtown Plaza unveiled its plans to renovate the mall, but said it will need some $20 million in city help. With that request and others coming, the city will do what it can to help, but some serious analysis is necessary, said Assistant City Manager John Dangberg. "Tough choices will be made," he said.
The shrinking redevelopment pot may mean projects are delayed, pared down, or canceled altogether, Dangberg said. Over the next few months, the city's Economic Development Department will evaluate the proposals, looking at their proposed use and benefits to the city before making recommendations to the City Council.
"What cannot be funded can't be funded," Dangberg said. "Either they'll find other ways to move forward, or they might drop off."
In 2005, the city approved a $114 million bond to fund projects in the 104-block downtown redevelopment area. The bond is to be repaid through anticipated growth in property taxes, or "tax increment" within the redevelopment area.
The council already has approved money for a host of projects, including $28 million to assemble land and allow the development of the struggling 700 and 800 blocks of K Street and nearly $9.9 million to transform a historic office building at 926 J St. into a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel/restaurant.
The city hopes in 2009 it will be able to issue another bond and collect an additional $20 million to $60 million.
Meanwhile, Dangberg and his staff are trying to think creatively about the most cost-effective use of the funds. One idea involves re-evaluating a controversial idea to bring a movie theater complex to the old Woolworth's building at 10th and K streets, Dangberg said.
Developer David Taylor's team has proposed turning that building into a small live theater and restaurant with a $6.7 million city subsidy. That project was expected to bring in 200,000 visitors a year -- a low number in comparison with other uses such as movie theaters.
In the past, however, a proposal to place an art movie house at that location was rejected as too politically sensitive after community members complained it would put the Tower and Crest theaters out of business.
The new idea might hinge on the theaters staying away from art films and focusing instead on first-run movies.
Taylor said Monday he's agreed to a city request to take a quick look at the feasibility of the movie theater project. However, he doesn't want to imperil his current idea, which could be completed in 16 to 18 months.
"For me, the really important thing is to do something positive at that location and bring in an extra 200,000 people who aren't there now," Taylor said.
The deal might make more sense now that Downtown Plaza owner Westfield Corp. Inc., has submitted its $20 million subsidy request to the city. Much of that money was needed, Westfield officials said, because the city wanted them to put its proposed expanded theater complex atop the Hard Rock Cafe at Seventh and K streets and bring more foot traffic to the struggling K Street mall.
If theaters were on 10th and K streets, it's possible that the costly move wouldn't be necessary.
The city's goal is to create such a thriving downtown that subsidies will no longer be necessary. Dangberg said the downtown is already seeing more of that as it flourishes.
Michael Ault, executive director for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, agrees.
"The city used to have to seed everything, now restaurants are doing it on their own, and office buildings no longer get subsidies," Ault said.
Projects on a larger scale, and projects with housing are now likeliest to get help, Ault said.
Last week, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership board voted on a priority list of downtown redevelopment spending. The board agreed that Downtown Plaza was a top-ranking request, because downtown's success hinges on the mall. And though no firm plan has been proposed to move the Greyhound bus station and costs are unknown, the partnership board agreed that, too, must be at the top of the city's list.
Fargo said she knows that city assistance can often make or break a development. She said all the 2005 bond projects approved to this point couldn't have been done without the additional dollars.
Developer Lloyd Harvego said his plans to build ground floor retail and upstairs apartments at the site of the former Orleans Hotel in Old Sacramento won't materialize without city assistance.
The $6 million is crucial, Harvego said, since the return on the rentals will be lower than the downtown market.
"Rental rates are lower, but construction costs are not lower," Harvego said. "Without city tax increment, this project simply wouldn't get done."'
Last week, I wrote about wanting to see what else is out there vying for redevelopment money, well here it is.
Taken from SacBee.com
Dude, that 114M went by FAST. Where did the other 40M go?
- 28M 700 and 800 K Street
- 9.9M 926 J Street
- 475K Imax
That's only 38M.....They say 35M is left over..differance of 40M from the 114M. SOmething is missing. I know the Crocker is getting money, but I can't imagine it's 40M
Unfortunately, K Street is taking A LOT of the money, but that should come as no surprise and is WELL worth it. It needs to stay the #1 choice.
If I had to spend the money, I would have to lean toward anything with housing and K Street. So that puts me at #3, #7, #10, and the remaining amout to whatever 10th and K needs and maybe a little toward Downtown Plaza. I haven't even heard of the 900 J and K Street block project, but I'd have to rank that one pretty high since it's housing and on J and K Street
I have to imagine that The Towers will get it done without the 10M. I don't think K Street "beautification" is needed. If they just get 700, 800 and 1000 redeveloped, that'll do wonders for now.
Mainstream theaters do bring a lot of people, but I still want to see live theater at 10th and K. Maybe there a way to incorporate both into 10th and K? I could do without the Paragary "flagship" restaurant
The UPN studios could be cool and would "only" cost 1M. If it's the building I am think of accross from the old Marilyn's building, I have always thought that building would a great Sacramento MOMA down the road.
The Docks area waterfont park sounds awesome and would LOVE to see it, but I think it's one of those projects that is quite a few years off and can be included in the 2009 funds. Plus, spending all 35M on it probably wouldn't be the best idea.
___________________________________________________________________
Tough subsidy choices for city
Requests for help on projects dwarf the $35 million available.
By Terri Hardy -- Bee Staff Writer
From hotels to condos to rehabbing Sacramento's Downtown Plaza, a flood of proposed development projects are pouring into the city.
These major projects also come with requests for city subsidies totaling more than $116 million, and more proposals are expected. The problem: The city's downtown redevelopment fund has only about $35 million remaining.
"We don't have enough money to cover projects on our wish list, at least right now," said Mayor Heather Fargo.
Last week, the owner of the Downtown Plaza unveiled its plans to renovate the mall, but said it will need some $20 million in city help. With that request and others coming, the city will do what it can to help, but some serious analysis is necessary, said Assistant City Manager John Dangberg. "Tough choices will be made," he said.
The shrinking redevelopment pot may mean projects are delayed, pared down, or canceled altogether, Dangberg said. Over the next few months, the city's Economic Development Department will evaluate the proposals, looking at their proposed use and benefits to the city before making recommendations to the City Council.
"What cannot be funded can't be funded," Dangberg said. "Either they'll find other ways to move forward, or they might drop off."
In 2005, the city approved a $114 million bond to fund projects in the 104-block downtown redevelopment area. The bond is to be repaid through anticipated growth in property taxes, or "tax increment" within the redevelopment area.
The council already has approved money for a host of projects, including $28 million to assemble land and allow the development of the struggling 700 and 800 blocks of K Street and nearly $9.9 million to transform a historic office building at 926 J St. into a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel/restaurant.
The city hopes in 2009 it will be able to issue another bond and collect an additional $20 million to $60 million.
Meanwhile, Dangberg and his staff are trying to think creatively about the most cost-effective use of the funds. One idea involves re-evaluating a controversial idea to bring a movie theater complex to the old Woolworth's building at 10th and K streets, Dangberg said.
Developer David Taylor's team has proposed turning that building into a small live theater and restaurant with a $6.7 million city subsidy. That project was expected to bring in 200,000 visitors a year -- a low number in comparison with other uses such as movie theaters.
In the past, however, a proposal to place an art movie house at that location was rejected as too politically sensitive after community members complained it would put the Tower and Crest theaters out of business.
The new idea might hinge on the theaters staying away from art films and focusing instead on first-run movies.
Taylor said Monday he's agreed to a city request to take a quick look at the feasibility of the movie theater project. However, he doesn't want to imperil his current idea, which could be completed in 16 to 18 months.
"For me, the really important thing is to do something positive at that location and bring in an extra 200,000 people who aren't there now," Taylor said.
The deal might make more sense now that Downtown Plaza owner Westfield Corp. Inc., has submitted its $20 million subsidy request to the city. Much of that money was needed, Westfield officials said, because the city wanted them to put its proposed expanded theater complex atop the Hard Rock Cafe at Seventh and K streets and bring more foot traffic to the struggling K Street mall.
If theaters were on 10th and K streets, it's possible that the costly move wouldn't be necessary.
The city's goal is to create such a thriving downtown that subsidies will no longer be necessary. Dangberg said the downtown is already seeing more of that as it flourishes.
Michael Ault, executive director for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, agrees.
"The city used to have to seed everything, now restaurants are doing it on their own, and office buildings no longer get subsidies," Ault said.
Projects on a larger scale, and projects with housing are now likeliest to get help, Ault said.
Last week, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership board voted on a priority list of downtown redevelopment spending. The board agreed that Downtown Plaza was a top-ranking request, because downtown's success hinges on the mall. And though no firm plan has been proposed to move the Greyhound bus station and costs are unknown, the partnership board agreed that, too, must be at the top of the city's list.
Fargo said she knows that city assistance can often make or break a development. She said all the 2005 bond projects approved to this point couldn't have been done without the additional dollars.
Developer Lloyd Harvego said his plans to build ground floor retail and upstairs apartments at the site of the former Orleans Hotel in Old Sacramento won't materialize without city assistance.
The $6 million is crucial, Harvego said, since the return on the rentals will be lower than the downtown market.
"Rental rates are lower, but construction costs are not lower," Harvego said. "Without city tax increment, this project simply wouldn't get done."'
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Can anyone guess where this is?
That is our K Street Mall back in the 40's.
Now I know some of you must be "Bullshit" There way too much life on that street to be Sacramento's K Street. That has to be a K Street somewhere else. There are actually cars on that street!!
It is!!! Look, you can even see the Kress Building in the background!
Unfortunately, many of us are not old enough to remember the K Street Mall of years past. and only have images urine stenched streets, homeless people, drug use, burned down buildings, boarded up retail shops and general scariness
The K Street of the older days was filled with lots hotels, theaters, department stores. A big difference from todays selection of retailers. (even if it has got a million times better over the years).
It was the entertainment center for the region. When you wanted a night out on the town, K Street is where you went.
For decades, and decades the city has been trying to jump start the most tired, beat up stretch of our central city and turn it in the lively city we see above (Minus the hats)
Thankfully, such landmarks as The Crest Theater, Kress Building, Sacramento Public Market (by famous architect Julia Morgan) and The Cahderdral of the Blessed Sacrament were able to survive the down turn of K Street.
After year and years of fails starts and proposals coming and going ranging from TV Studios to a Century CinaArts. Sacramento may have finally broke though.
In Oct 2004, Mayor Fargo held a "Plan A Ballosza" , where hundereds of Sacramentains came out to tell city leaders what they want to see happen to our downtown. RFPs were sent out to all the property owners basically saying, time to put up or get Eminent Domain dropped on you. (it's about time)
After many meeting and discussion around property ownership, the historical significance of the buildings on K Street Mall, 3 groups of developers are coming out of that process that are attempting to step up and offer plans to develop the 700 block, 800 block and the city owned 10th and K block of K Street Mall.
There is so much info on these projects, I'm going to keep them as short as possible. I'm sure I will leave some details out.
10th and K
Developement Team:
David Taylor, CIM Group, St Anton, and the Cordano Company (K Street Cental)
In addtion to the city owned site at 10th and K, the team is proposing to develop all 4 corners of that intersection. The other 3 sites are owned by the team, so ED will not be needed.
What is being proposed for the other 3 sites:
- 230 Housing Units
- 105-Room Boutique Hotel
- Retail and Restaurant Space
For the city site, there are three option they have presented:
1) 114 Market rate Housing, Lucky Strike Bowling, Jazz Nightclub, Broadcast Studios for UPN and KFBK (can you imainge watching Nappear calling someone a "moron" through a glass window? haha)
2) Movie Theatre Option, only if the Westfield one does not happen. This would be appox 150K in retail and entertainement space.
3) Live Theatre/Performing Arts
The team will be pursuing a Live Theatre/Performing Arts option. Talks were that originally the B Street Theater would move into the space, but their commitment to the Sutter Midtown Project killed that idea. The city has hired consultants to see what would be possible for the site and what users would be interested.
For as much I think a new performance art stage would be great, and I think a new movie theatre is needed downtown...I would like to see the Sacramento Symphony, Philharmonic, Ballett, ect, get permanent space.
If we finally get the Community Theatre (To be renamed "Sacramento Performing Arts Center)" renovated, that will take care of performance art for a little while
800 Block and 700 Block
After submitted competing proposals, John Saca and his team have signed a "peace treaty" with the owner of Z Gallery, Joe Zeiden for each to develop seperate projects.
For the 700 Block, Zieden Properites will rehad all the building on that block and bring in approx 50K in new retail. Names such are Borders Books, Urban Outfitters and Sur la Table.
For the 800 Block, Saca and company was proposing a high-rise condo project with about 500 units and some 30K in retail space.
The initial estimate cost to the city in terms of a subisdy/loan is "budgeted" to be around 20M.
To FINALLy get K Street cleaned up, to me, that is NOTHING. Pennies compared to how long that stretch of street has been sitting in dispare and has plagued downtown.
There are still a lot of details to work out since there is still some property that will need to be bought or ED from property owners on K Street
More on these very important project coming soon...
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