Cars on K Street

This Tuesday the 26^th the City Council will award the award the Cars on K Street construction project to Navajo Pipelines, Inc. for an amount of $1,996,975, whom was the lowest bidder. The project was budgeted for $3,061,200 and will be funded by transportation funds and merged downtown tax increment funds.

As of June 22, 2011, the Cars on K Street Improvements Project had a remaining unobligated balance of $2,302,000 which is sufficient to execute the construction contract. There are no general funds planned or allocated for this project. The approval of this project will support 57 jobs in the City of Sacrament based upon the model provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of one new job for every $35,000 of transportation project investments. The projects expected to last 55 days with the return of cars on K by the end of the year.

Sutter Medical Center Spanning Structure

When the new complex opens, Sutter General will be rechristened as the Ose Adams Medical Pavilion and it will be seamlessly connected to the Anderson Lucchetti Women’s and Children’s Center by a unique, three-story spanning structure across L Street that will also house clinical space. Construction on this spanning structure, which will blend the two facilities into a comprehensive medical campus. Please forgive my lame photos, my camera is in the shop and I'm currently using a Coolpix.

“Seventh & H” SRO Rising

The tower crane for this “Seventh & H" SRO project has been a nice reminder that some developments are still moving forward in downtown. For about a month now, this crane has been on site preparing the foundation for the eight story 102 foot tall building. At the corner of Seventh & H Street, crews are also laying tracks for the Green Line, a light-rail route that eventually will bring passengers from downtown Sacramento to Sacramento International Airport. They are welding 40-foot rails into 400-foot sections to make up the 1.1 mile span from downtown Sacramento to Richards Boulevard.

Sacramento Redevelopment Stalled

New legislation signed into law June 29 will directly affect the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) and stall several major redevelopment projects in Sacramento. Bills ABx26 and ABx27, will reduce t the impact of (SHRA) by requiring them to pay a “year one” payment estimated at $22 million and approximately $5 million every year after that. As reported by the Sacramento Press, once the SHRA governing boards have an opportunity to review the completed analysis, they will give the agency their recommendations on the options available. They are currently in a state of limbo.

Redevelopment agencies have until Oct. 1 to either dissolve or make the first-year continuation payment to continue redevelopment activities. The California Redevelopment Association (CRA) plans to file a lawsuit in the next couple of weeks challenging the new legislation saying it’s unconstitutional after the passing of Proposition 22 last November that specifically prohibits the state from doing anything with local funds, including redevelopment funds.

Currently, several major redevelopment projects in Sacramento are stalled. These include the 800 K Street project, Township 9 project, and Veterans Village, a proposed new construction development in the Mather Redevelopment Area that would provide affordable housing for veterans.

Some projects that have already been approved, however, would not be affected by the new legislation, including the Seventh and H streets project, the La Valentina project on 12th Street, and the Hotel Berry renovation project.

To read the full Sacramento Press article please clicks here.

CADA Property Sell Off

The Capitol Area Development Authority was started up during Brown's first run as Governor. Now, more than 30 years later, the state legislature has passed a budget that eliminates the redevelopment agency. Executive director of CADA, Paul Schmidt talked on KXJZ's Insight on the selling off of properties managed by CADA and what it would mean for the City of Sacramento. CADA manages about 16 blocks in downtown and is a self supporting organization that’s funded by renting of 784 apartments. Click here to take a listen if you have a chance, the interview with Paul starts at 15:55 mark.