Capitol Towers an Historic District?

Tonight the Sacramento Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing to recommend the Capitol Towers superblock within N Street, P Street, 5^th and 7^th Streets be registered as a historic district. The applicant, Sacramento Modern (SacMod,) requested the nomination of the Capitol Towers complex for listing in the Sacramento Register of Historic & Cultural Resources (Sacramento Register.) The Preservation Director found significant features and characteristics of the Capitol Towers superblock meet several criteria for eligibility and recommends consideration and action. Click here  to view all the “historic” reasons.

The proposed Sacramento Commons project includes two high-rise (24 story) apartment buildings with 550 total units (275 apartments per building), 12 live/work units, 21,000 square feet of ground floor retail / support services, 604 parking spaces, and an open space plaza. Two 206 mid-rise (7 story) apartment units, 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail / support services, 916 parking spaces, and 30 live/work units. One Hotel/Condo/Retail  300 room hotel, 110 condominium units, 37,000 square feet of retail / support services, and 639 parking spaces in a 24-story mixed use building, and 4 live/work units. 

Colliers Downtown Office & Research Report

The 4^th quarter of 2014 showed the Sacramento office market attracting both new investor groups and positive signs of the market improving. Colliers International research projects a slight drop in vacancies with no additional supply of office space in the Central Business District.

Colliers research also indicated that 4^th quarter sales activities had picked up from the previous year in the total number of transactions, while the total dollar volume appeared to double sales from the previous year. Colliers stated that with the Downtown arena underway and the market steadily improving, expect to see more downtown projects and ownership transfer sales over the next 12 months as interest rates remain historically low and financing is readily available.

With just under 2 million square feet sitting vacant in the downtown market, it’s hard to envision any large office towers getting started in the next year or two.

My hope is that the Sacramento market stays stable and vacancies continue to trend downward from the peak in 2011 at 17.2%

Click to view Colliers International Sacramento OfficeMarket Report.

http://www.colliers.com/en-us/sacramento/insights/office

Sacramento ESC Construction Photos

Crews continue pouring concrete mat slabs and pile caps for the new Entertainment and Sports Center.

Sacramento ECS Construction - from the 14th floor of the Federal Court house on "I" Street

Sacramento ECS Construction - From 14th floor of 555 Capitol Mall.

Sacramento ECS Construction - Taken from 5th Street

Sacramento ECS Construction - taken from 5th Street

Sacramento ECS Construction  - taken from 5th & J Streets

Sacramento ECS Construction - from top of 555 Capitol Mall car garage

Sacramento ECS Construction - from top of 555 Capitol Mall car garage

Sacramento ECS Construction - from top of 555 Capitol Mall car garage

Downtown Arena Construction Photos

 The foundation of the new Sacramento Kings arena in downtown is pressing forward.


Foundation work for the new Sacramento Kings arena.

Foundation work for the new Sacramento Kings arena.

River City Rain

Sacramento Skyline from the west CR 102

700 K Breaks Ground This Week

Starting this week abatement and clean-up of the existing, rundown retail buildings on the 700 block of K Street will begin. Once that's done, demolition will get underway of the buildings behind the storefronts, to clear the way for a six-story apartment building with 137 units and 12 to 15 street front retail equaling 75,000 square feet. 

Construction should take 18 to 24 months and open about the same time or soon after the new arena. The total cost of the project is estimated to be from $35.5 million to about $47.7 million.

Downtown Sacramento Property and Business Improvement District

Next Tuesday the Sacramento City Council will pass a Resolution to renew the Property and Business Improvement District (PBID) which was originally approved in 1995 and again in 2005.

The PBID purpose is to serve the public interest by providing a higher level of safety, maintenance, and economic development services that are above and beyond what the City currently provides. Safety and maintenance activities include daily street guides, trash abatement, and graffiti removal. Business development services provide marketing, outreach, and other activities to convey a positive image and to attract new business to the Downtown corridor in an effort to increase economic development and revenue.

There are 460 parcels in the PBID service area. The total PBID assessment budget for the first year is approximately $2,716,642. Link

Flooding at the Arena Site

Panoramic photo of arena site looking north

Construction was halted midday Thursday because of the intense rainstorm.

Panoramic photo of arena site looking east

26-Story High-Rise Planned

Proposed 26 story high-rise at 601 J Street 

If I did not know better, it's been feeling like 2006 all over again. Lots of big plans, and when I say lots, I mean way beyond what the city can absorb. But I digress. Last week Vanir Development Co. Inc. submitted plans to the city for a 26-story office tower (377 feet tall) on J Street across the street from the planned downtown arena and hotel. The Sacramento Bee reports that it’s a class A office building and hold 372,000 square feet of office space.

As much as I love the idea of a high-rise and more construction in downtown, this one does not make sense to me. According to Colliers-Sacramento, there is over 1 million sf of vacant office space in (CBD) and 2 million in downtown. That's the size of four 25 story office buildings. Unless Vanir Development Co. Inc. plans to build on speculation like 500 Capitol Mall did, I don’t see how this will pencil out? At one time 621 Capitol Mall was proposed at 31 floors, but for 6 years developer David Taylor could not find enough tenants to fill it so banks could loan him the money to build. A certain percentage of square feet in a tower need to be leased out before monies are released to build. So Taylor shortened the tower to 25 floors so that it could meet loan requirements with the tenants he had already secured over a six year period. 

What’s interesting about this site is that the current building at the proposed site has been empty since 2009. Bank of the West moved to 500 Capitol Mall when their lease was not renewed and were told a high-rise was being planned for the site. The timing did not work out and the site has been sitting empty ever since. Here’s what they had in mind back then... Link

Marshall Hotel Renovation

Proposed Marshall Hotel renovation

In a move to transform and upgrade the Marshall Hotel on L Street, renderings have been released showing a piss poor attempt to make it attractive combining both the old and new. The developer Presidio Cos. said it hopes to start construction sometime next fall of the 130 hotel rooms, topped by 10 to 15 apartments or condominiums.

Proposed Marshall Hotel renovation

"Downtown Plaza Tower"

Official rendering have been released courtesy of Rios Clementi Half Studios showing more detail and green space planned for the proposed arena tower. The project, tentatively titled "Downtown Plaza Tower," is planned to have 250 hotels rooms, 69 upscale apartments, 35,000 square feet of office space and 45,000 square feet of retail space.

Proposed Downtown Plaza Tower

Proposed Downtown Plaza Tower

Proposed Downtown Plaza Tower

$300 Million Courthouse

Vague rendering of proposed Sacramento Criminal Courthouse
across the street from the Federal Courthouse on "I" Street

The budget to build a New Sacramento Criminal Courthouse has been reduced to $300 million from it's original budget of $552 million five years ago. The size of the project has also been reduce from a 16-story mid-rise to now a 12-story building and from 44 courtrooms to 35. Somehow with all the reductions of cost, the square footage of 405,500 has remained the same.

The State of California has allocated $27 million for drawings and planning required for construction.

The groundbreaking is expected for the fall of 2017, with completion by 2020.

Vague rendering of proposed Sacramento Criminal Courthouse 

http://www.courts.ca.gov/facilities-sacramento.htm#tab3703

16-Story Mixed-Use High-Rise

The Sacramento Kings  have proposed a 16-story mixed use high-rise next to the new arena that is currently under construction. The plan has the tower facing J Street, between 5th and 6th Streets. The Sacramento Bee reports that the first four floors of the building will be made of a grand lobby, retail space, offices and hotel amenities. There will be 250 rooms and 69 residences filling the top five floors. The Kings have asked for a city Planning Commission hearing to discuss the plans on Dec. 11 and are seeking to have the necessary permits approved early next year.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/city-beat/article3651940.html#storylink=cpy

Proposed 16-story hotel between 5th and 6th Streets on J Street.

Time lapse Video of Downtown Plaza Demolition

On Wednesday the Sacramento Kings officially kicked off construction of their $477million downtown arena with plans to have it ready for the 2016-17 season. The Sacramento Bee has a great time lapse video showing demolition of the former Downtown Plaza from July through October 2014. 

Time lapse Video of Downtown Plaza Demolition 4:48.

The Former Downtown Plaza

Panoramic photo from L Street at the former Downtown Plaza 10-12-2014

At an amazing pace, the Downtown Plaza is all but torn down. You can now easily see buildings on J Street while standing on L Street where the mall use to be.

Please click on the photo to view the image larger.

700 K Project to Move Ahead

Last night the Sacramento City Council approved a pair of unanimous votes on the financing plan that would allow the 700 K project to move ahead. As stated in the SacramentoBusiness Journal, D&S Development and CFY Development, have said with some financing approvals for tax credits and bond allocations expected in December, construction on the project of apartments and retail should get underway in early 2016.

700 K would have 137 apartments, both affordable and market rate, in a building behind a row of existing retail spaces, totaling 75,000 square feet and up to 14 different businesses. Under the financing plan, developers will repay the city of Sacramento some money being loaned up front that the city would turn around and use to help other hoped-for projects in the downtown core surrounding the new arena site. The total cost of the project is estimated to be from $35.5 million to about $47.7 million.

Future Sacramento County Courthouse

After nearly a two year pause, the Sacramento courthouse proposal planned for the railyards at the corner of where H Street meets Sixths Street appears to be moving forward again. This week, the State of California bought 2.4 acres for $10 million. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, Court officials have estimated the cost to design and built a courthouse at $452 million, plans call for a 12-story building of 405,000 square feet, with 250 parking spaces and a basement.

The courthouse won’t get built for some time, but the judicial council gave authority this summer to begin working on legislation to appropriate money for courthouse design, but such legislation still needs to be approved by both the council and the state Legislature. In addition, the State has selected two firms to team up on building design, Nacht & Lewis and HOK. 

Property where Sacramento will build a $452 million courthouse.

Downtown Plaza Demolition

Downtown Plaza Demolition

In a matter of 54 days, the corner of L and 5th Streets has been leveled and it looks as if prep work for the new arenas foundation have begun. That orange square in the lower left of the photo looks as if a tower crane might rise from there?

The above photo is a screenshot of a livecam you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWuS8hM_5D8 

20,000-seat Stadium Plan

Sacramento Republic's proposed MLS stadium

Sacramento’s soccer franchise, Republic FC, announced plans yesterday to build a 20,000-seat stadium in the city’s downtown railyard.  And how would it be paid for? Questions remain over how the stadium will be financed. Mayor Kevin Johnson has said no city money will be used to help build the facility. Kevin Nagle, the lead investor in the expansion bid has said the Republic FC investor group will have the capacity to pay for the stadium, plus a league expansion fee of at least $70 million. No city money to help build the facility could really mean “city money, but only to help buy the land or provide tax breaks. Will see?

Sacramento Republic's proposed MLS stadium

12th Street Underpass Artwork

Today the Sacramento City Council will consider approval of artworks depicted in the images above for placement on the east and west side of 12th Street underpass between North B and C Streets. The fabrication and installation of the artwork will be done by L/C Mural and Design, Inc. for $5000.00.

Sacramento City Council AGENDA