Build the Republic FC Stadium, Even Thou Tax Money Fell Through

Right now appears to be the closest the proposed stadium has ever been to actually starting construction. A few weeks ago local residents successfully blocked the expansion of a special taxing district (designed to fund infrastructure around the stadium) but the city plans to move ahead with the project and figure out which tax money to use later. With residents and labor advocates successfully halted the expansion of a special taxing district intended to spur development in the Railyards, the Sacramento Republic FC said they remained committed to building a new stadium in the area.

Earlier this week a formal ground breaking at the Railyards site near North B and 7^th Street which was lead be Witlon Rancheria. The $175 million soccer stadium could be ready for play by the 2027 season. The Sacramento Republic FC has declared that this time it will really get built. 

Remember when... 201 N Street Is For Sale

Lot X Sacramento - 201 N Street

It was only three years ago a mixed use high-rise was going to be built at 201 N Street. At one time it was to be 28-storys, and then later increased to 32 stories. Then last year around August the proposal was put on hold... and you know the rest of the story. The land is now for sale, 2.5 acres by the developer Southern Land Company and the asking price is $19.9 million. I wonder if the city of Sacramento had offered to subsidies this residential high-rise it could have been financially feasible? I am not surprised this was canceled, history has shown us again and again that Sacramento currently can't build a residential building over eight floors and be successful. These aren't my rules, this has been proven over and over again in the last several decades. The only exception to the rule is Penthouses at Capitol Park apartment built in 2007 above the Residence Inn Sacramento Downtown at Capitol Park. The top three floors of the fifteen story building is residential, maybe future proposals should consider this method instead of above above offices or one hundred percent residential. I hear the city is looking to also increase hotel rooms near the Golden One Center. Turton Commercial Real Estate 

The Elks Tower

The Elks Tower 921 11th Street, Sacramento

The Elks Tower is currently for sale asking $9.9 million. It’s considered Italian Renaissance Revival high-rise at 14-stories and 110,468 square feet. It’s considered a landmark building and a historic structure and when it was completed in 1926 at a cost of $1.5 million. Standing at 242 feet tall, it is taller than the California State Capitol by five feet.  

Colliers Sacramento Office Snapshot: Q2 2025

Colliers Sacramento Market Fundamentals

In looking at market indicators provided by ColliersSacramento, it appears to show that office downsizing and vacancy levels have leveled off. For the first time in several years, net absorption was positive. I hardly believe all is well again after only one quarter of optimistic demand, but overall activity appears strong with demand and rents and the State of California’s four day return to office in July 2026 has also provided some hope. The Colliers report shows a fragile office market, but several of the graphs show a hint of promise of recovery in the near or distant future.

Colliers Sacramento Historic Comparison

State Capitol Annex Project

Capitol Annex construction looking south from L Street

The new California Capitol Annex building will have 537,444 square feet of floor space over 8 stories at a cost of $1.3 billion and counting. Demolition was completed of the 1950's in 2023 on the East side of the Capitol building, which housed the Governor's office and legislator offices. The project’s plans include a new annex and an underground visitor center on the west side of the Capitol and an underground parking garage on the southern side.

Capitol Annex construction looking south from L Street

Rendering of how Capitol Annex could look

Rendering of how Capitol Annex could look

Rendering of how Capitol Annex could look

Rendering of how Capitol Annex could look

UC Davis Medical Center’s California Tower

Looking north from 45th St. on the medical center campus

On the eastern side of the existing UC Davis Medical Center, two tower cranes are in place to construct the 14-story hospital tower. At a total construction cost of $1.2 million (project cost: $3.7 billion), the building will connect to the existing Surgery and Emergency Services Pavillion to over 909,000 square feet of space in the new structure. When completed in 2030, the project will have a total of 334 beds, intensive care, and medical/surgical bed types; 12 hybrid operating rooms; and two rooftop helipads.

Looking east from Stockton Blvd. and X St.

Looking west at 45th and X Streets

Seen from Hwy. 50 and 65th St. looking west

Seen from Hwy. 50 going east

Demolition of Arco Arena Parking Lot

Arco Park in the foreground 

Over the weekend I was driving on Truxel and Del Paso Roads and noticed what appeared to be several giant concrete/asphalt piles while looking west towards the former Arco Arena location. My curiosity made me wonder if they were also removing the unfinished Arco Park stadium foundation. I found no such thing, the Arco Park foundation is still there but 2/3^rd of the parking lot that surrounds the former arena has been removed and roads for the new Innovation Park are being built. The most southwestern part of the land has a proposal for California Northstate University Medical Center project on 25 acers and is expected to generate $4.04 billion in regional economic output in the next 10 years as it’s developed.

1986 proposed Arco Park

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Railyards Sacramento

With the ground breaking in March of this year, the 8-story Kaiser hospital in the River District appears to currently drilling piles into the ground as well as shoring up walls that are below grade. This $1.5 billion project is expected to competed in 2029.

365 Railyards Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95811

Proposed 700 J Street Hotel

700 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Last month Hume Development purchased the Capitol Bank Building at 700 J Street for $11.06 million with the intention of converting the 1917, 7-story building into 107 hotel guest rooms. The proposed project would maintain the building’s current exterior which is granite-clad but repurpose the interior spaces. The plans and costs to begin the transformation have not been shared yet, but the building will be renamed the Hotel Elanor.

Colliers Sacramento Office Snapshot: Q4 2024

Facing record vacancy, Sacramento’s office market is now just below a record high. Also reported in Colliers International Sacramento office market report, the State of California is set to vacate a sizable amount of space next quarter and its shedding of 1.1 million square feet of leased space. Occupancy losses are outpacing new signed leases with the Department of Corrections moving out of 283,504 square feet at 151 S Street in Q1 2025 as well as others if you read the report.

After the highest sales activity in Q1 2020, both office volume and sales have been falling since then. Some of the available office space will be converting to alternative uses, the former historic Capitol Bank Building built in 1915 at 700 J Street was recently sold to Hume Development for $11.06 million and they have plans are to convert the 7-story building in to 107 guestrooms. Colliers forecast for 2025 is renewed optimism, with most large move out finished by Q2 2025, availability could stabilize.

Macy’s To Close In Downtown

Macy's Department Store at 414 K Street Sacramento, CA

Sacramento’s Macy’s department store downtown has been named one of 66 planed locations to close in the next three months. The K Street location was originally built in 1962 for $13 million and has been the anchor for the former mall and shopping area. CBS News Sacramento says there is significance interest in the location. The Greater Sacramento Economic Councils Berry Broome says there is a need for support from the state about economic development and policy infrastructure. The Citrus Heights Sunrise Mall Macy’s will also close as an underperforming store.

New Sacramento Republic’s Stadium

Today, the 12^th of November the Sacramento City Council is expected to approved a proposed term sheet to build a soccer stadium in the Railyards downtown. The Wilton Rancheria tribe has become the majority owner of the Sacramento Republic FC and is now in the process of purchasing the land needed to build the new 12,000 seat stadium. The estimated cost will be $321 million and completed in 2027.

Redevelop Capitol Mall Offices Into Housing

Last year in August the State of California requested architects and general contractors to look at three state office buildings along Capitol Mall downtown and see if they can be converted into housing. Fast forward to today, the State of California has now declined any further request for money to move forward with the project... possibly because the crazy cost to continue and the States budget not as healthy as it once was. The three buildings that were under consideration were 800 and 801 Capitol Mall and 751 N Street. The three building could have add 700 units of housing. and it was clear the state didn’t have the funds for the adaptive reuse study. It will be interesting to see what other opportunities The California Department of General Services has for these buildings in the near future.

Update: Capitol Mall Redevelopment Proposal

 In April of 2021 I posted a grand vision the City of Sacramento has for the scenic Capitol Mall promenade west of the Capital up to the Tower Bridge. The city presently wants to spend $500,000 from Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) to move forward with the design. As reported by KOVR 13, the estimated cost to develop this plan could be $16 million, but if you have been paying attention to government spending (like many have) the real cost could be closer to $20 million or more.

The proposed design would be to reconfigure the street  to host large festivals and small farmers markets without shutting down the street. This would include removing 4 lanes of traffic and only have one in each direction, the center median of grass gone, wider sidewalks and another row of trees. I personally prefer  grand approach to Sacramento's Capitol Mall from the west this is a scenic promenade with a two lanes of traffic and a wide center strip devoted to vegetation. Today as we drive across the Tower Bridge, local residents as well as visitors have a clear view of the Capitol. Like I said in the previous post, what planners are doing is social engineering people to change driving habits. After Capitol Mall has the number of lanes reduced, traffic will be worse, hoping this congestion get you out of your car and take public transit instead. Manipulating people, changing behavior. This is happening on many downtown streets, often referred to as a road diet.  Your tax dollars at work as cities shut traffic lanes. On many streets and roads, road diets don't leave adequate capacity for cars and trucks. That pushes traffic onto other streets.

Renaissance Tower Sold

       Renaissance Tower at 801 K Street, Sacramento, CA

Last week the Renaissance Tower sold in an auction for $21 million to Ethan Conrad Properties as reported by KCRA 3. The 28-story office building has a current occupancy rate of 27%, but the new owner plans to renovate the office space and add restaurants into the building as well. The last time the tower was sold was in 2016 for $80 million, so this is a good price.

Colliers Sacramento Office Snapshot: Q3 2024

Vacancy have moved higher according to Colliers Sacramento 3^rd quarter report. Colliers states that because the State of California is vacating 278,000 square feet across four buildings, occupancy losses have pushed higher but there is hope of a recovery in mid-2025.

Two Downtown buildings sold at substantial discounts, reflecting the office sector’s pricing reset. Ethan Conrad Properties acquired 770 L Street for $22.5 million ($132/SF), a 52% drop from when New York Life bought it in 2018. Ethan Conrad also purchased 630 K Street for $10.3 million ($119/SF), a 63% drop in value since early 2020. An affiliate of Buzz Oates is reportedly under contract to acquire 400 Capitol Mall from Manulife for $117 million, which would be a 41% decline from the 2019 purchase price. 801 K Street, which is only 27% leased, is going up for auction on October 21 at an $8.5 million starting bid. It sold for $79.2 million in 2016.

Wells Fargo Tower Sold

The decline of downtown Sacramento and the office market is now more clear than ever. As reported by KCRA 3, Sacramento's tallest tower has sold for a steep decline, a 67% drop in value from what it was most recently sold for. The tower was originally constructed for $120 million in 1992 and sold in 2000 for $130 million. The building was later resold again to to Hines’ Core Fund in 2007 for $237,250,000 million. The 501,308-square-foot was most recently sold to an all-cash buyer for $117 million. 

Renaissance Tower Will Be Auctioned

 
The 28-story Renaissance Tower at 801 K Street will be up for bid on October 21^st. As stated in the Sacramento Business Journal, the building is currently 27% leased, well below most other "trophy" office properties in Sacramento's urban core. Renaissance Tower also has a seven-story attached parking garage. the starting bid for the building would be $8.5 million. That's nearly a tenth of the building's last sale price, $80 million in 2016. 

On-Hold: 201 N St. Residential High-Rise

It’s been reported in the Sacramento Business Journal that the proposed 28 story residential high-rise at 201 N Street has officially been paused. With no activity with the city of Sacramento to secure building permits since 2022, it’s a safe bet Southern Land Company is feeling the pinch from the slowing economy. The proposed project exterior looked to be made with high quality materials and lots of details. Does Sacramento have enough deep pockets to rent out or own enough of these high-rise units to make them profitable? I would say no, that is why downtown sees lots of residential projects being built up to eight stories, after that the construction costs to go taller are to high and there are not enough people in Sacramento willing to pay that high amount to live there. I could make an extensive list of all the failed high-rise residential projects in Sacramento in the last 40 years, this might be another.

Colliers Sacramento Office Snapshot: Q2 2024

I’m a little slow on getting this posted, but ColliersSacramento Q2 office market report shows several challenges that appear show a trend for the region. As stated in Q2 2024 Sacramento Office Market Report, Sacramento’s office market maintained its trajectory toward setting a record high vacancy rate later this year. Downsizing and consolidation has pushed the market towards record high vacancy rate. There was a negative absorption of -140K sf in the quarter with more planned in the next 12 months with multiple large vacancies slated for the second half of the year (read more under Absorption & Demand).

But on a positive note, Capitol Mall’s properties are recording significant occupancy gains through the first half of the year. 400 Capitol Mall went on the market for sale this quarter and will test buyer demand for stabilized Class A high rises.

Colliers forecast that the State of California’s return to office this summer, two days a week will increase foot traffic in the urban core. The Sacramento office market has been downsizing for the last four years. With the lack of demand, local office inventory will likely diminish in years ahead. There are approximately 1 million square feet of office properties being evaluated for conversions to alternative uses, including medical office, apartments and hotels.