Seventh & H SRO Construction Activity

Seventh & H

With just a few more bricks to lay, “Seventh & H” looks pretty sharp for an affordable housing project. The eight-story, $47.4 million, 150-unit being built by Mercy Housing is the first new structure going up in the railyards redevelopment project area.

Seventh & H

Seventh & H

626 I Steet, Sacramento 95814



626 I Steet, Sacramento 95814

This project when completed will consist of 108 units for occupancy by extremely low income elderly persons in September 2012. See before photos here.

7th & H SRO Construction

7th & H SRO Construction

Eight story 102 foot tall building
$47 million project
Developer and owner Mercy Housing California
122 studios (325sf) and 28 one bed room (500sf) units
Sixteen parking spaces, retail and health clinic on the ground floor. Construction is expected to be complete in October 2012

7th & H SRO Construction

7th & H SRO Construction

7th & H SRO Construction

“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.

Drilling Piles at “Seventh & H” SRO

Foundation work began about a month ago on downtowns newest single-resident occupancy building at Seventh and H streets. Below I have captured the process of drilling steel-reinforced piles into the ground at a depth of 70 feet.

This $47.4 million project will house 150 units at a cost of $316,000 per unit. It was just the other day I saw the price tag per unit for the project at another news site and I was floored by this crazy number. Is this why so few units ever get built downtown without subsides? This price was expected during the last real estate boom of a few years ago, but this seems a little steep for a SRO. Were currently in a depressed real estate market but the cost to build in downtown does not reflect that. If it weren’t for both the state and city subsidies to give builders money to build downtown, not much would be built. What does that say about our market? This isn’t something new either; it’s been this way for over a decade and developers have adjusted their business pratices to reflect this. Now that our state and city are broke, will developers take a risk building downtown without government support?



Rendering of finshed building

SRO Project Breaking Ground Soon

This $47 million projects planned for the northwest corner of 7th & H Street has now received all needed entitlements and necessary financing to move forward with construction this March. The project will be funded with $25 million in 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $8,200,000 loan funded by Home Investment Partnership Program, a $6,859,695 capitol grant and $3,750,000 operating grant funded by Downtown Low Moderate Tax Increment Funds, and a land grant for the acquisition, construction and permanent financing of the 7th & H Project.

Developer and owner Mercy Housing California is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing quality affordable housing with supportive programs to low-income persons in California. Together, Mercy Housing California and Rural California Housing Corporation have been responsible for the construction of more than 2,900 affordable single-family self-help homeownership units and 124 multifamily rental properties with a total of more than 7000 units. Their portfolio includes 18 properties in Sacramento County alone.

This 7th & H Street project will include 122 studios (325sf) and 28 one bed room (500sf) units as well as sixteen parking spaces, retail and health clinic on the ground floor. This eight story 102 foot tall building’s designed to replace other single room occupancy (SRO) units in downtown that are going to be replaced with other developments in the future.

7th & H Street SRO Proposal

Mercy Housing California of West Sacramento proposing affordable housing at the corner of 7th & H Street that will include 122 studios (325sf) and 28 one bed room (500sf) units as well as sixteen parking spaces, retail and health clinic on the ground floor. This eight story 102 foot tall building’s designed to replace other single room occupancy (SRO) units in downtown that are going to be replaced with other developments in the future.

There will be 3,900sf of retail space as well as 3,750sf health clinic, residential lobby, and a structured parking garage. 7th & H will also be designed to have a LEED-Silver standard and registered with the US Green Building Council. This project is the first mid-rise residential tower in the newly redefined Central Core District, and the first project to use the new Urban Design Guidelines. It located across the street from the County Jail and on an existing RT light rail line located along the north side of H Street, and a future RT line proposed on the east side of the 7th Street.

The project will require the Planning Commission approval of entitlements and to combine 5 existing parcels into one lot for the commercial condominium purposed. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear this project on April 21st and then again on May 6, 2010 for Final action.