The K Street Streetscape Improvement project is one of the key components in returning K Street Mall back to a lively and inviting pedestrian street. Today I walked by St. Rose of Lima Park section and saw a lot of progress in the renovation. One part I’m thrilled to see is that Sacramento has final embraced some in-ground water fountains that people will able to play in during the summer as well as just watch the fun display of water dancing. The master plan also calls for the RT platform station on K Street to be moved around the corner to 7th street in an effort to move loiters off K Street. These phase one improvements of St. Rose of Lima Park and K Street between 7th & 8th Streets will cost around $4 million and be paid for by Merged Downtown Redevelopment tax increment funds.
At this point, I would really like to see the city focus on getting housing built downtown which I believe will spur other developments like a grocery stores and other retail that the area is also lacking. To do this the City Council could make a new provision when handing out subsides, and that only projects that include housing can be eligible for city subsidies. Also, asking for subsidies has become a common request by developers these days. This could start the ball rolling (even if it’s in small numbers) to get more people living here. These streetscape improvements should do wonders in how the street looks and I look forward to being able to sit back and watch the dancing water while new life returns to K Street.
That's a great idea, if enough people live on and near K street it would bring a lot more life to that part of downtown especially after office hours!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeff.
ReplyDeleteThe additional housing would not have to be built on the proposal site for the project, but within a certain square block area. In the long run the city would be better for it but I'm sure developers would cause a fuss even if they were getting a hand out from the city. It's worth a try.