R Street vision refined, except for financing

Sacramento Business Journal
Friday, May 22, 2009

With restaurants and loft projects planned or under way on R Street west of 15th Street, the second phase of the corridor’s transformation has begun, with the city of Sacramento soliciting ideas for a public plaza in one of the more desolate stretches in town.

The two-block span of R Street between 16th and 18th streets, located near light-rail lines, now functions largely as an alleyway with some side parking. It is bordered by vacant lots and the empty Crystal Ice building as well as other buildings along a route to the Safeway grocery in midtown.

The city is looking at the plaza as a place for public art, planters and other amenities that would reshape the space with brick paving or interlocking concrete.

According to a description of the project provided by the city, details are getting more refined.

“Travel lane and pedestrian pavement will be large alternating bands of warm, earth tone colored and natural concrete,” the description says.

The challenge for the cash-strapped city is paying for it all. There is partial funding for design, and city workers are attempting to find funding for construction. The cost for street improvements west of 16th Street was about $4.5 million.

Story here

Renaissance Tower 20 Year Anniversary

Back in 1989 twenty years ago, Sacramento completed a landmark structure that engulfed many of the nondescript low-rises strung around downtown and became the first high-rise to reach past the 20th floor becoming the cities tallest. Many locals like to refer to the building as “Darth Vader” because of its menacing shape and dark color. This tinted-glass high-rise was originally proposed at 25 floors but was amended to be 28 floors, which put the tower 160 feet above the Capitol dome. With much applause and hope, city leaders at the time expected the Renaissance Tower to represent a rebirth of downtown and K Street. At 372ft tall, this was the cities tallest building constructed during the 1980's. This gem-shaped tower at the corner of 8th and K streets was counted upon to help revitalize the downtown mall and bring badly needed jobs and revenue to the central city.



In 1986 Mo Mohanna sold the old Clunie Hotel site to the Benvenutis (where the 28-story Renaissance Tower now stands) and after 60 years of use and being closed since March of 1980, the hotel was demolished to make way for the new high-rise. In 1987 developer Joe Benvenuti threatened to kill construction of the tower if the Sacramento City Council voted to impose stiff fees within the R Street corridor where several other proposals by Benvenuti were also on the drawing board. The council choose not to vote on its elaborate fee proposal that was an effort to raise money for downtowns revitalization. At the time, City Councilman David Shore was eager about the proposed tower saying “I think it's going to be of immense value in cleaning up the Downtown'' while at the same time city planning officials said that it could spark a revitalization of the city's central business district.

I personally love the tower. Its gemlike shape has a nice shimmer late in the day when the suns setting and looks really impressive when storm clouds are rolling through reflecting slivers of light off the dark glass.

Architect: Daniel, Mann, Johnson, & Mendenhall (DMJM).
Developers: Joseph and Richard Benvenuti.
372 Feet Tall
28 Stories
$45 million to build.
336,000 square feet.
Ground-breaking August 24, 1987 and finished in 1989.
23,467 square feet of lobby and retail space
Seven-story parking garage with 510 spaces.
Glass-and-Granite exterior.
Last sale of tower in Jan. 08’ was just below $90 million.
The towers also know as 801 K Street and "Darth Vader" for it's shape and color.

Since the Renaissance Tower was built, ten other high-rises over 300 feet have been erected in downtown Sacramento.

Prop. 1C Applications Totaling $112 Million

SACRAMENTO (OBSNews.com) – In an effort to further jump start the local Sacramento economy, the City of Sacramento, in conjunction with other agency partners and area developers, today submitted applications totaling more than $112 million to the State of California's Proposition 1C (Prop. 1C) Infill and Transit Oriented Development Housing Programs. These applications for eight new mixed-use and transit-oriented development projects will provide a needed boost to the local economy, will create sustainable transit-friendly development envisioned in the City*s recently adopted 2030General Plan and the SACOG's Blueprint, and support housing development for low-income families. The City will continue to aggressively seek State and Federal funding to bring development projects and jobs to Sacramento.

"Putting Sacramento back to work and spurring economic development is our top priority, and securing these funds will go a long way to making that happen," said Mayor Kevin Johnson. "This is a proactive step towards investing in infrastructure to help create a successful future for Sacramento.

Expected to be awarded by June 30, project applicants for the second round of Prop1C will create vibrant new mixed income communities with a range of housing prices and affordable rents. Specific projects that could receive the grant funding include: The Railyards; Township 9; Station 65; Crystal Ice Blocks; Capitol Lofts; La Valentina; Curtis Park Village; and the 7th & H Street project.

If awarded funding, these grants will help cover the cost of new infrastructure that will support these new developments, create thousands of new short-term construction jobs as well as new permanent jobs in the region, and will help the City realize the vision of creating development to promote a new model of smart growth in the region.

In 2006 California voters approved Proposition 1C which launched several new programs that provide funding for infrastructure that supports residential and mixed-use infill development including affordable housing. In 2008, projects in Sacramento, including the Railyards, Township 9 in the River District and Broadway Lofts at 19th and Broadway, successfully secured more than $70 million of Proposition 1C funding. This year $197 million is available statewide through the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program and an additional $95 million is available through the Transit Oriented Development Housing Program.

OBSNews.com

Sutter Medical Center Expansion

The Sutter Medical Center project has been making progress by installing exterior cladding and windows on the Sutter Medical Foundation building on 28th Street. At another construction site one block over, a deep hole is being prepared of the foundation of the Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center. This 10 story building expected to start rising out of the ground in the next six to nine months.


Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center site


Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center site


Sutter Medical Foundation building

The Sutter Medical Center urban village project includes a new Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center, renovation of Sutter General Hospital and the Sutter Cancer Center. The overall project also features 32 new residential units; neighborhood-serving retail, restaurants and commercial space; a community parking garage; a new theater complex for the B Street Theatre and the Children's Theatre of California; and partnership facility-sharing relationships with Trinity Cathedral and other project partners.



Panoramic view of construction site (hole on right is where Anderson Lucchetti Women's and Children's Center will rise and the power generator currently there will be relocated underneath the Sutter Medical Foundation Building on the left) click to enlarge.

Hard Hat Tours of the project are available. Learn more

Sacramento Finally Makes Zagat Survey

I don't understand how the Tower Café made the list?

Sacramento Finally Makes Zagat Survey
Sacramento’s dining scene finally received recognition from Zagat, who intheir 2009 America’s Top Restaurant’s Survey included the metro for the first time.

Among the Top 20 Restaurants listed by Zagat:
Biba Restaurant
Bidwell Street Bistro
Boulevard Bistro
Ella
Firehouse Restaurant
Frank Fat’s
Hawks
The Kitchen
Kru
La Bonne Soupe Café
Lemon Grass Restaurant
Mason’s
Mikuni
Mulvaney’s
Osteria Fasulo
Paragary’s
Tower Café
Tuli Bistro
The Waterboy
Zocalo

10th and K Entertainment Project

With a 45% ground floor vacancy rate, K Street’s health is currently struggling. These spaces have been vacant more than eight years and have seen several projects – all proposed with subsidies - come and go. Currently David Taylor Interests (DSTI) and the CIM Group (CIM) have proposed the following K Street Entertainment Project:

• 1016 K Street: This 3,000 sq ft parcel will feature Dive Bar, a trendy play on a vintage dive bar. Dive Bar will feature an iPod jukebox with a selection of many musical genres.

• 1020 K Street: This 5,600 sq ft parcel will feature Pizza Rock, a high-end pizza restaurant. The restaurant will feature pizza acrobatics and trained pizza artisans.

• 1022 K Street: This 4,300 sq ft parcel will feature Frisky Rhythm, an upscale nightclub targeted to an audience ages 30 and up.

• 1012 K Street: This 12,000 sq ft parcel will undergo building shell and core renovations. No tenant has been identified yet.

Major upgrades will need to be made to make the parcels market ready. Hazardous waste issues, seismic retrofit and utility upgrades, and antiquated infrastructure are just a few of the significant costs present in most K Street projects. Additionally, the tenants will be paying market rate rent and thus not undercutting existing businesses by offering subsidized mortgage rates. Tentative target delivery date is late 2009.



Financing: The total budget for this project is $11.8 million including tenant and developer investment as well as proposed public investment.*

Investment in 1016, 1020, 1022 K Street
Public Investment $3.4 million
Private Developer $3.4 million
Tenant $1.7 million
TOTAL $8.5 million

Est. investment in 1012 K Street
Public Investment $2.0 million
Private Developer $0.24 million
Tenant $1.1 million
TOTAL $3.3 million

Total Public Investment $5.4 million
Total Private Developer $3.6 million
Total Tenant $2.8 million
TOTAL $11.8 million

* The public investment is derived from proceeds of the Sheraton sale in 2008. Under the sale terms, half of the transaction proceeds would be available for DSTI/CIM projects in the JKL Corridor with City Council approval.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

This project will be constructed in two phases and includes demolishing the existing church and building a new 1000 seat Cathedral worship facility which the Design Commission approved last week.

A joint venture project is also in the planning stages for a new B Street Theatre in partnership with Sutter Hospital. The theatres planned for across the street from the Cathedral between 27th & 28th Street on Capitol Ave. with 95 condos and a 250 seat theatre.

Sacramento Intermodel Transportation Facility

The proposed Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility (SITF) is planned to be developed in three phases and would include the a realignment of existing rail tracks (Phase 1 estimated cost $56,169,000), improvements to the existing Sacramento Valley Station, which includes the current Southern Pacific Railroad Depot (Phase 2 estimated cost $21.9 million), and eventual transformation of the Station into a multimodal transportation center (future Phase 3 estimated cost $261.9 million).

The proposed project site consists of 33 acres, including the existing Station that’s owned by the City and the Cities in the process of acquiring additional land immediately north of the Station for the proposed project. The area to be acquired also contains the approximately 3,300-foot-long UPRR rail corridor (current alignment and proposed realignment) between the Sacramento River and 7th Street.

Phase 1 would be constructed and fully operational in 2010. Phase 2 would start construction in the first quarter of 2011, after the completion of Phase 1, and would be completed in approximately 3 years. The timing of Phase 3 is uncertain and depends on the build alternative selected and availability of funding.

There are two alternatives in building the new terminal building to accommodate projected providers and passengers for the new facility. Alternative 1 is to not move the depot or alternative 2 is to move the depot 300 feet to the north next to the realigned tracks. Moving the Depot would ensure that it would become the anchor for the new Depot District and would generally shorten the connections between passenger modes.

The project has just completed a National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment evaluation and is open to public comment till May 15, 2009. A public informational meeting will be held on April 22, 2009.

Skyline Club

Panoramic photo taken from Arco Arena. (click to enlarge)

Streetcars Proposed for Capitol Mall

Today the Preservation Commission will meet to discuss a study of bring Streetcars onto Capitol Mall and back to downtown Sacramento. Over the past 30 years, public and private interests have examined the feasibility of streetcar and services that could travel between West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento, but in May 2007 West Sacramento became the lead agency to prepare a draft environmental impact report for the project to gain permits for the project.



With the partnership of West Sacramento, Sacramento, in cooperation with Sacramento Regional Transit (RT) and Yolo County Transportation District (YCTD), a partnership was formed to study the reintroduction of the streetcar and connect the cities and their shared riverfronts. The partnership was also aided by funding from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Community Design Program to perform a thorough analysis so elected officials, public agencies, citizens groups, and other stakeholders could make an informed decision on the proposed transportation investment.



The feasibility study includes a discussion of the technology, alignment, financing opportunities, and operating plans. The 2.2 mile proposed streetcar alignment would go from Washington/Triangle/Civic Center areas of West Sacramento and cross the Tower Bridge. From there the tracks would travel down Capitol Mall and cross over to K Street where it would then make a loop around the Convention Center heading back to West Sacramento.

The purpose of the proposed project is to improve transit service and local circulation by connecting both West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento with an alternative (non-auto) mode of transit in supporting existing and future development in the Cities of West Sacramento and downtown Sacramento. Approximate cost to build the Streetcar system is between $50 and $60 million.

Click here to see Video of Proposed Streetcars in action.

Developers buy 730 I Street building for $7.8M

The Sacramento Business Journal's reporting that Sacramento Counties selling the Bank of America Building at 730 I St. for $7.8 million. The new owners will either refurbish it into a “first-class commercial project” or raze the building and put up a new one. If the group elects to refurbish the building, it must revamp the exterior with glass, concrete or other contemporary materials and may add a fourth floor.

The developers Ravel Rasmussen Properties and Separovich/Domich Real Estate Development are buying at a great time and I hope they have big plans to replace this building when the market improves. In 2006 D.R. Horton had big plans to build high-rise condos before the housing market went south. In this case I hope the new owners do something that’s a mixed use of both office and housing because downtown really needs more people living and working in the area.

EEG Site One Developer Selected

EM Johnson Interest and Nehemiah Community Reinvestment Fund Holdings (NCRFH), a member of the Nehemiah family of companies, has been selected as the developer for East End Gateway Site 1. Located on the northwest corner of 16th and N Streets, the site is currently occupied by a parking lot and a small apartment building.

The selected proposal identifies sources of equity and construction financing and emphasizes the development of mid-rise entry-level “workforce” housing. The structure was designed by Devrouax + Purnell Architects and will be 8 floors (7 floors over a concrete podium). The structure will contain 98 condominiums, 6,000 s.f. of retail and 120 parking spaces. Construction is scheduled to begin in October 2010 and be completed by January 2012. The total project development cost is estimated at $37 million.

Projects completed by Em Johnson Interest include the Fillmore Heritage Center and North Beach Place in San Francisco (in partnership with Bridge Housing), Richmond Village, and Palm Villas in Oakland. NCRFH was the joint venture partner in developing over 1,900 units of housing in California, is the developer of the Township 9 project in Sacramento's River District, and provides community lending throughout the United States to help revitalize economically stressed neighborhoods.
http://www.cadanet.org/eeg.php

Snow Capped Mountains

K Street compromise

Friday, March 13, 2009
Sacramento Business Journal

Opinion

The issue: The city approved a $5.7 million subsidy for a nightclub/restaurant on K Street despite protests / Our position: The subsidy’s new restrictions should be enough to quell the controversy without killing the project

Sometimes, a compromise is a victory.

And a controversial development on K Street is proof.

A complicated accord, reached during last-minute negotiations, will allow developer David Taylor and the CIM Group to contract with an out-of-town nightclub and restaurant owner to open a bar, gourmet pizza eatery and nightclub. Construction is scheduled to start by the end of April, and the so-called dive bar — featuring mermaids and mermen — and other entertainment-oriented spots could open by the end of the year.

It’s a long-overdue and much-appreciated development for K Street, which has battled eminent domain lawsuits, failed shops and a look-over-your-shoulder feeling. Sure, an arts center, museum or major retailer is a better use of the building, but an entertainment outlet is a huge step forward.

Any development is better than a block of decaying and neglected structures.

The late-in-the-game agreement turned controversy into compromise and is evidence of a let’s-get-it-done attitude under Mayor Kevin Johnson and a revived City Council.

There was anger, debate and, in the end, a resolution. Truly, a great example of the process at work.

Certainly, closed-door meetings created the deal, but it was a public dispute from the beginning, culminating with full-page newspaper ads and media coverage during the final week.

The Sacramento City Council approved the $5.7 million “altered” subsidy for the development, ending a few hours of public comment and dozens of speakers about the project.

Under the agreement, San Francisco nightclub owner George Karpaty cannot combine the business spaces to create a huge nightclub without Council approval, and $2.1 million in funding will be delayed until a tenant is found for the fourth space. A more-than-acceptable agreement, for both sides.

The controversial funding comes from $25.6 million generated from the sale of the Sheraton Grand, another high-profile and much-needed project Taylor powered. Those dollars could be used only for downtown redevelopment, and the bar-pizzeria-nightclub fits the bill. Karpaty and Taylor will combine to invest $5 million in the project.

However, many midtown business owners challenged the city subsidy, saying the entertainment venues would hurt their own struggling operations. It’s an acceptable argument, especially with the dismal economy and fast-declining consumer spending.

But K Street needs development. Now, with the agreement, the on-again-off-again renovation of the often-overlooked street can resume and get “off its knees and back on its feet,” in the words of City Councilman Ray Tretheway. The agreement between the city, the developers and midtown business owners will also help the city stand a bit straighter in the eyes of the community.

$550 Million for New Sacramento County Courthouse

Today on the Ninth Street steps of the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse, Assemblyman Dave Jones unveiled a new deal for Sacramento County to build a courthouse expected to cost $550 million. The new site of the building has not chosen yet but court officials would like it to be on the site of the two-story parking lot across Eight Street from the existing facility. It would house 35 to 49 new courtrooms for criminal proceedings. Funds to build the new court house will come out of the $5 billion lease revenue bond that was enacted buy the legislature last year.

$550 million is alot of money…here's the costs of some other local State projects and what we got for the money.

Federal Courthouse, 6th and I Streets
Project Description: Construction of a 16-story, 380,000 sf office building forthe United States Federal Courts. 19 courtrooms.
Total Project Cost: $134 million
Date of Completion: 1999

State of California East End Project, 15th and Capitol Mall
Project Description: Construction of 1,470,000 gross sf of office and retail.Approx. $4.2 million was allocated for housing, preservation, lighting and park enhancements.
Total Project Cost: $392 million
Date of Completion: 2003

Cal EPA Building, 10th and I Streets
Project Description: Construction of a 25-story, 765,000 sf office building forthe California Environmental Protection Agency. The building houses approximately 3,500 employees.
Total Project Cost: $170 million
Date of Completion: 2000

Five Hundred Capitol Mall

Last Friday I was invited to go up into 500 Capitol Mall (The Bank of the West Tower) and get a few photos of the 4-story lobby off Capitol Mall and the shared 25th and Penthouse windows at the top floors. The building is currently experimenting with interior lighting in the lobby and soon the pinnacle at the top of the tower. By mid-March exterior lighting facing Capitol Mall will be turned on to really making the building stand out.

Click on picture to enlarge

La Valentina Station

This project consists of developing several vacant lots into a four story structure, 63 apartments, 7 live/work apartments, 6 commercial spaces, and 63 parking spaces. The building is adjacent to the light rail station located along the north edge of the site. Contemporary in design the project uses a large amount of fiber cement board oriented as a horizontal rain screen along the façade of the North building and vertically as the main finish material. Cement plaster is proposed as a secondary material on the building. Fiberglass windows and doors have been proposed for durability and efficiency in lieu of vinyl. Water jet cut Corten steel railings are proposed at the south building as a decorative element. The project has been designed to incorporate sustainable design techniques including passive solar design, photovoltaic systems, a green roof area, and vegetated swales along the rear property line.

The project will require Planning Commission approval of entitlements for Environmental, Special Permit to allow reduction in required parking, Special Permit to allow building to exceed maximum height allowed by the zone, Special Permit to allow gated development, variance to reduce interior side setback, variance to allow compact stalls to exceed a maximum of 40%, variance to allow a roof structure to exceed the maximum allowable height. The Planning Commission is scheduled to hear this project on March 12, 2009 for final action.

When $30M isn’t enough

The issue: Westfield is planning to expand the downtown mall / Our position: A $30 million investment is not enough to make the mall vibrant

Sacramento Business Journal
Friday, February 6, 2009

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has been criticized for his fast-moving actions and forward-looking goals, from an effort to establish a strong mayor form of government to hiring an out-of-state firm to look at money-saving options for the city facing a possible $50 million shortfall.

But almost anyone who has cruised through the central city would applaud the mayor’s hard-line stance on the Westfield Downtown Plaza. The center — a collection of brand-name retailers, mom-and-pop shops and numerous empty storefronts — has been a disappointment for the past several years.

Now, the Westfield Group, one of the nation’s best-known and largest shopping center owners, has announced an expansion and face-lift for the open-air mall. Company executives are sharing few details or a timeline for the multimillion-dollar project.

But community leaders and downtown executives say the project will cost about $30 million, a paltry amount compared to the Westfield Galleria at Roseville.

“We’re not going to be satisfied with a modest investment,” Johnson said during the State of Downtown breakfast Jan. 22.

Neither will we. We also won’t be satisfied with a half-hearted investment that does little more than push retailers around the center like a 4-year-old who hates the peas on his plate.

Sure, the food court will move from the west side of the center, near the movie theater, to the east side. New retailers are being courted to open in the former food court space, though national chain Target has canceled plans to open in the mall. And Westfield wants to improve the light and visibility in the shopping center. All are much-needed improvements to the shopping center.
But it’s not nearly enough.

The center, which has more retailers leaving than opening, is an anchor in downtown. And not in a good way. The city has announced an aggressive effort to address K Street mall, a collection of badly damaged buildings and many closed shops, to help jump-start development on the several blocks between the Sacramento Convention Center and Westfield Downtown Plaza.

Downtown Plaza also desperately deserves attention from city officials and downtown leaders. Without some much-needed prodding and tough love, many residents will hate going to the center that will become nothing more than an extension of K Street’s woes.

The Westfield Group invested about $270 million at the Westfield Galleria at Roseville. That’s big-time dollars, but, to be fair, the center continues to exceed expectations with high-end retailers and high-income shoppers.

We cannot ask for, let alone expect, a comparable investment at the downtown mall, which caters more to blue-collar and state workers, and generates about half as much sales-tax revenue as Arden Fair. But the current plan for the downtown center fails to generate excitement about the project.

Certainly, the cash-strapped city needs to set aside some dollars for the downtown center’s expansion and face-lift, but Westfield also needs to detail much-larger plans than its modest project. Otherwise, the city — and community — will be investing money in a still often-overlooked shopping center.

Link to article

Urban Oasis

Crest Theater Improvements Project

The Sacramento City Council passed a motion last week to loan an additional $160,000 to the existing $253,839 loan principal to create a new loan to be used for capital improvements to the theater. The loan is forgivable in the year 2019 if the theater makes structural, safety, and aesthetic improvements as part of scenic easement to the Crest Theater marquee. An Owner Participation Agreement (OPA) with The Briggs Family Group (Owner) is to provide Downtown Redevelopment tax increment funds to the project. The loan would add $160,000 to the existing loan principal $253,839 and create a new loan of $413,839 to be used for capital improvements to the theater.

Crest Theater Loan Documents