Images of Sacramento

Tower Theater - 2508 Land Park Drive- Built in 1938

1615 Capitol Ave. Department of Public Health

300 Capitol Mall - Built in 1983

Deadline for Railyard Developer Today

Today Thomas Enterprises could lose funding for the Railyards project if the developer can’t prove it has the money to continue the job. The state of California has said it will pull $30 million in grant funding if developer Thomas Enterprises cannot clear a notice of default with investor Inland American.

There is also another $50 million grant as well as another $35 million allotted from the state transportation commission, putting more than $100 million in funding at risk. Inland American says it will work to protect the state grant funds, with or without Thomas Enterprises. (CBS13)

The Next American Dream

The Next American Dream
Is Sacramento Ready?

We used to get dressed up to go “downtown.”
It was an occasion.
It was the place to be.
It was the energy of every growing city.
But times changed.

Suburbia was born.
And we deserted downtown.

It’s time to rebuild our urban cores.
Does Sacramento have the will to rebuild?

Please join us at the Crest Theatre
for a screening of
The Next American Dream,
a documentary film about a downtown coming back to life.

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010
Social Hour – 5 to 6 p.m.
Screening – 6 to 7 p.m.
After-Party – Social Nightclub (10th and K)

This screening was not brought to you by an association, a chamber, a media outlet, a developer, a politician or the filmmaker. This film was brought to you by people who call Sacramento home. Most importantly, this film was brought to you by a group of people who ready to change the landscape of our region.

For more information about The Next American Dream, visit nextamericandream.com.

Some local Sacramentans are putting this screening on: a new vision for downtown Sacramento.

Check out the trailer at http://nextamericandream.com/.

I think you’ll find it well worth your time

Updated DMV Headquarter Renderings

Thanks to my friends at Lionakis who is both the Architect and Designer of this project, I have some updated renderings that includes a new central plant. In addition to the other upgrades I mentioned in my previous post, the exteriors south-southwest portion of the facade will be a dual-skin facade. The purpose of this feature is to provide an insulation barrier which may also be ventilated naturally (through a stack effect: heat rises). The central plant is also currently construction, one block south of the headquarters.

What ever happen to...

A couple weeks ago the Sacramento Business Journal did a story all the infamous lots in downtown Sacramento where projects that were once on the verge of breaking ground were eventually put on hold or canceled .There are a few of these site I had forgotten about, but it's also a good read as to what else is going on now.

Read here: Lots of potential by The Sacramento Business Journal

3rd & Capitol Mall where John Saca's Towers were proposed

River District Specific Plan

For the 748-acre River District Area, the City proposes adopting policy documents to support a transit-oriented mixed-use urban environment that would include up to 8,144 dwelling units, 3.9 million square-feet of office, 854,000 square-feet of retail, 1.4 million square feet light industrial, and 3,044 hotel units.

The proposed River District special planning district consists of properties generally bounded by the Sacramento River on the west, the American River on the north, the Railyards on the south, and 18th Street on the east. The SPD is intended to implement the development standards and design guidelines in the River District area plan.

The goals of the River District SPD are as follows:

• Establish a greater mix of land uses and intensities to attract private investment;

• Provide the opportunity for reuse and rehabilitation of heavy commercial and industrial uses to take advantage of the light rail facilities in the area to reduce the number of obsolete and underutilized buildings and sites;

• Allow for the retention and continued operation of industrial and service oriented uses;

• Provide for improved circulation, infrastructure, and community facilities that will serve existing and future needs within the area;

• Provide for the future creation of a significant residential population as industrial uses are replaced or relocated within the River District area to achieve housing objectives of the central city and provide a jobs/housing balance for future office growth;

• Provide for the intensification of commercial and office uses within close proximity to the planned and existing light rail stations and Interstate 5;

• Discourage uses that contribute to visual or economic blight;

• Ensure that properties with hazardous material contamination within the River District area are remediated to the extent necessary to protect the health and safety of all possible site users and users of adjacent properties, consistent with applicable laws and regulations;

• To encourage the preservation of historic structures;

• Promote aesthetic improvements to the area by implementing development standards and design guidelines.

This Thursday the 12th, the Planning Commission will review and comment on proposed height limits within the River District, treatment of nonconforming uses, zoning code change entitlements (height, setback, and stepback), parking regulations, rezoning of industrial land to more mixed uses, feasibility of requiring ground floor commercial within specified areas of the district, and other issues regarding the draft River District plan.

Township 9 Parks Master Plan

Township 9 is a 65acre planned mixed use community located in the City's River District and adjoining the southern boundary of the American River. Parks within the project include a passive community park along the American River, a small neighborhood park centrally located within the development, widened street medians and a mew, a transit plaza and mid-block paseos. The parks will serve the residents and employees of the development and will help to move pedestrians and bicyclists through the project site as they make their way towards the American River. A master plan for all of the parks, with the exception of the mid-block paseos, will come to City Council for approval on August 10th.

On July 1, 2010, the City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) reviewed and supported the Parks Master Plan for Township 9, recognizing that the parks included expensive elements not typically found in City parks, and that maintenance of the parks would be more costly. The PRC recommended that park maintenance be conducted by City staff rather than by a private entity, following discussion about the Project's Development Agreement which requires the Developer to form an assessment district to fully fund the maintenance of the parks. The Township 9 Development Agreement allows the City to enter into an agreement with an outside entity to perform the maintenance.

The City received $30 million in Proposition 1 C grant funding that was assigned to the Township 9 development project. This funding has enabled the developer to begin construction on this high profile project. The Proposition 1 C funding will focus on the design and construction of infrastructure needed to develop the site (streets, sewer, water, storm drain and dry utilities), three parks (Transit Plaza, North 7 th Street Median, and Riverfront Park), and light rail improvements in consideration for development of 397 market rate housing units and a 180 residential unit affordable housing apartment. Staff will return to City Council for action on a Credit / Reimbursement Agreement for "turn-key" park development with the Township 9 Developer at a later date. Development of parks creates an ongoing cost for park maintenance and utilities based on the size of the park. The Project's Development Agreement requires that a Community Facilities District or other assessment district be formed and funded before the City will accept each park. The ongoing maintenance of each park will be fully funded by the District to offset any new impact to the Department's Operating Budget.

Timing: The Transit Plaza, North 7th Street Median, Riverfront Plaza and Riverfront Park are anticipated to be completed by mid-2011

DMV Headquarters Renovation

After deciding to remove asbestos applied between every floor when DMV’s Sacramento Headquarters Building East opened in 1962, the department launched an ambitious, concurrent renovation plan to completely remodel all six floors of the facility to improve energy efficiency and reduce ongoing operations costs. The remodeled floors feature energy-efficient glass, sunscreens and insulation systems, energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems, and water-saving restroom fixtures. The project will also ultimately add a solar, electricity-generating photovoltaic (PV) system to the building’s roof. The project was started in 2004 and expected to be finished in 2011. Located at 2415 1st Avenue.

Current exterior renovation photos taken last week.