Wow..after 3 tries looks like Shallot got it right.
The part that concerns me is this sounds like it's going to $$$$ to buy out the lease AND build an interim depot at Richards Blvd..plus who knows how long it will take.
With that said, between this, the Marshall potentially becoming a hotel, Berry Hotel being renovated, and the 700/800 block, one of the more seedy areas in downtown cleans up quite a bit. All this would all help people feel much safer walking and even coming to that area of downtown.
Does this mean 701L Street is back in play? I can't imagine the city would make this deal to just let it sit empty. I still wouldn't mind a year-round farmers market on that site.
Deal in the works for Greyhound station move
By Terri Hardy - thardy@sacbee.com
A much-anticipated deal to move the Greyhound Bus station out of downtown is expected to be signed by Thursday, Mayor Heather Fargo said in an interview Tuesday.
A letter of intent between Sacramento and Danny Benvenuti, the owner of the Greyhound site at Seventh and L streets, would have the city buy out Benvenuti's lease with the bus company and build an interim depot at 300 Richards Blvd., Fargo said.
More discussions would be needed to hammer out further details, Fargo said. If the deal goes through, it would end more than 10 years of serious discussion, she said.
"This is the closest we've ever gotten, but it's not done yet," Fargo said.
It's unclear at this point how long it would take to build a new Greyhound station, which will be an interim location until permanent bus service can be located in the planned transportation hub at the downtown railyard, Fargo said.
The city owns the office building and adjoining acreage at 300 Richards Blvd. The renovated structure that's to house the temporary bus station will also soon be occupied by as many as 390 Police Department employees, including bicycle officers and the Crime Scene Investigations Unit.
Also, more than 300 Department of Development Services will relocate to the building.
Police and business leaders point to the current Greyhound station as a crime magnet, attracting drug activity and the homeless. It also is the spot where the state's Department of Corrections drops off parolees just released from prison, Fargo said.
Fargo said the location receives more calls for police service than any other single spot in the city. However, she said that a number of factors, not just Greyhound, contribute to the perception that the area is unsafe.
Some people have criticized plans to move Greyhound, saying a more isolated location will be inconvenient for travelers. However, Fargo said there will be increased bus service near the Richards Boulevard site, as well as a shuttle to City Hall. A light rail station also is planned for the area.
Restaurants and hotels also are close by, she said.
"Moving Greyhound is a big deal," Fargo said. "People have been hopeful about this for some time."
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Didn't it say the city already owns the 300 Richards site? SO the Greyhound will share the building with police and development services? Interesting...Seems inconvenient to try and ride Greyhound from there.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the city does own the building, but I'm sure they will have to put money into it to accommodate a station.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine the buses can just start pulling to the building as is right now. I've never seen the building, but I have to imagine that is the case.
I agree it probably won't be as convenient for the people that use it currently, hopefully more frequent bus lines and light rail (in what 2020?? 1/2 joking) will help.
there are quite a few bus lines on Richards already, and moving bus routes takes a couple weeks - just to post notice at the stops. I've been watching that happen on my street, and the process was amazingly quick.
ReplyDeleteI'm not insinuating that this location is more convenient, but it's not all that bad. Check out Google maps directions feature, and click the "Take Public Transit" button after searching directions.
example here
My gut reaction to the story in the Bee was - so they are moving the City's biggest "Crime Magnet" to the outskirts of town so people downtown can forget about the crime that is happening at the greyhound station and enjoy an attractive new building. If the new location will be co-located with a proposed police station though I supposed conditions could improve.
ReplyDeleteIt still seems a bit counterintuitive though in the great hope/hype of new urbanism to move a transportation hub to the outskirts of a downtown rather than right in the center.
I just hope that as conditions downtown change in the future, the City doesn't find itself spending money to move the bus station back downtown to make it more convenient for the new urbanites that have moved in.
I guess the another option would be to put a police station next to the existing Greyhound location...
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I'm glad that this might happen. I just hope the intermodal station gets built within my lifetime!
Chris P. - that's exactly what the City is planning to do. This would be an interim station until the railroad tracks are straightened out and intermodal at 5th & I Streets is built. That's gonna be a long while, but it is the plan.
ReplyDeleteYou can look at it under a cynical eye, or a realistic one. Right now the station is in a ghetto of urban blight. I don't think of it as the City trying to rid downtown of undesirables - more like the City should never have confined its problems to a couple blocks in the first place.