"Coolness in Crystal Ice"

Frequests commenter Wburg has some great photos inside the Crystal Ice building at 16th and R, on his blog Sacramento History

The building is marked for an amazing transformation by Mark Freidman into housing and retail, "The Ice Blocks", along with a pedestrain walkway with festivals, walking, outdoor eating, street venders and markets. Go check out the great photos he has up.

Here are some other old photos I found online.

The Blaze...

Most people know that last week Sacramento had a huge fire on one of the major railroad tracks that goes through the city. I was lucky enough to get to the right location to take a few shots as well as slip in some high-rise construction pix.

Sky High on the 25th Floor

With lots of smoozing and leg work by me, I was given the opportunity to go up into Sacramento’s newest high-rise while it’s under construction, the U.S. Bank Tower. Once I got to the construction site, I put on a hard hat and walked to the material lift with the Project Superintendent for a ride up into the sky. After several stops allowing workers on and off the lift, we stepped off onto the 25th floor. When the lift operator opened up the gate to let us out I was awestruck by the sight. As I stood there on the sheet metal floor and looked around, I found myself grinning with the cool breeze blowing through and a view left that left me speechless. This view is truely incredible with no windows to get in the way. I was there when all the workers were on their lunch breaks, so I was able to walk around and check out much of the view from the top floor. I often found myself just gazing out and often forgot why I was there to begin with… to take photos. I took several shots, so enjoy the view from the 25th floor of the NEW U.S. Bank Tower.


Material lift


The 25th floor. Most of this space will be used as a grand
meeting and conference room... look at that view on
the left where huge windows will go. (faces have been
blurred as a request from the contractor)

Looking east

Don't mind that guy (me), check out the view from
the conference room looking south.

These support beams are built to hold the 68' Tower Feature
that will be attached to the top of the tower in April. It will
take two weeks to install the whole thing.

Looking east through the conference room.

The view west.

Looking north west.

Northeast

6th street below.

View from the 17th floor. They have pored concrete for the
all the floors up to the 18th floor.

Glass and aluminum exterior. This should go up at the rate
of a floor a week soon.

The Capitol Grand at 965'

These are photos of the renderings that were given to me on 11 x 17 sheets of paper. I wanted to scan them but they are just to big.

These are the NEW Capitol Grand renderings and with the EIR process nearly finished, the tower would top out ar 965' at the top of the spire. To the top of the structure is 771' and the spire on top rises up 194' to the final height of 965'. To meet parking requirements with the city, the tower has 7 above ground parking leveles and 6 below. The below grade parking would go down 75' and have slurry walls of 3 feet thick surrounding the hole.

My only real complaint at this point is the look of the base at the street level. It has a bunker quality about it... could use a little work.

The Tower would use 5 different types of stone, 2 different types of glass,2 different types of metal and 3 different types of concrete. I think thats pretty impressive for a tower of this size.

The big question... will it be built???

Township 9

This a mixed use development is called Township 9 and would be located just to the north of Richards Blvd. on 65 acres. This proposal has two development scenarios. Scenario A would have approximately 2,981 housingunits and 146,194sf of neighborhood retail and restaurants. Scenario B would develop 839,628sf of office use (instead of residential) on the proposed lots facing Richards Blvd. and reduce the total number of housing units to 2,350.Plan B would also include 146,194 of neighborhood retail and restaurants justlike plan A.

Township 9 would have apartments, condos, townhomes, and live/work units and the building height for the site would range from 2 to 15 stories with a maximum height of 180 feet for the residential unites and 235 feet for the office. There would be five or six structures that would be 15 stories and would be located along the Riverside Parkway. When looking at the rendering above, you can tell which structures would be 15 stories by the shadows they cast (the shadows are going the wrong way, being that the sun rises and sets to the south).

The project would also include space for a transit station and tracks forfuture Light Rail construction.

In a Sacramento minute...

Possible New Developer for County Building

If it's "nationally known company that already has a presence in the Sacramento area.", my guess would be KB Homes through their relatively new KB Urban division which focuses on high density mid/high rise projects.

The county really wants to get rid of that building as soon as possible. I think I remember reading the mortgage on the property is 40K a month for the unused building.

No surprise the plan might call for a little more office than the last plan by DR Horton.
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Bob Shallit: Pinch hitter on deck for 21-story loft project
By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist

A "nationally known" developer soon could be stepping in to build a 21-story housing and office complex at a downtown site abandoned by Texas home builder D.R. Horton.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson confirms reports that talks are under way with another developer for the county-owned site at Eighth and I streets.

"Things are going quite well," he says of negotiations. "The hope is that within 30 days we can go back to the board and say we have an agreement, that we're back on track."

The project -- called Library Lofts -- got off track in September when Horton backed out of an agreement to buy the vacant building and replace it with a high-rise.

The new developer is looking to build "essentially the same project as Horton," Dickinson says.

The original plans called for about 300 condos, ground-floor retail and 40,000 square feet of office space, some of which would be occupied by county departments. The new plans call for "a little more office, a little less residential," says Dickinson.

The supervisor isn't revealing the identity of the new developer, but says it's a "nationally known company that already has a presence in the Sacramento area."

Sacramento International Airport Expansion

Sacramento International Airport Expansion (yes, the international is used loosely)
$1.1 Billion
New Central Terminal Complex
New 23 Gate Concourse B (with 3 International Gates)
New Parking Garage #2
New FAA Control Tower
Automated People Mover to Concourse B
Upper/Lower Decking of Roadway for Central Terminal (Arrivals and Departures)

Construction will begin in 2008 on the new 700,000ft Terminal B, with the project to be completed in 2011. (we'll see about that)












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To get an idea of how big a project and complicated this is, here is a list of all the companies involved:
Corgan Associates Inc (prime architect)
Dreyfuss and Blackford (architect)
Fentress Bradburn Architects (architect)
Lionakis Beaumont Design Group (architect)
Buehler and Buehler (structural engineering)
Capital Engineering (MEP systems)
Kennedy Jenks (civil engineering)
Hanscomb Faithful and Gould (cost estimating)
Transolutions (performance levels)
Lea and Eliott (people mover)
Leigh Fisher and Associates (parking and ground transportation systems)
The Centre for Airport Management (concessions planning)
CAGE (baggage systems)
PKF (hotel planning)
Conway consulting (airport capacity planning).

Having a modern airport is very key to the business environment of cities. The new terminal will help Sacramento take another step in improving our business travel for these people. I used to travel quite a bit for work and getting direct flights to and from Sac could sometimes be a major pain, esp to and from the east coast. Some of my coworkers who reside in the east would always complain about never being able to get direct flights. I can't blame them either. Stops suck.

Hopefully with the expansion we will see more and more flights coming into Sac, esp given the continued diversification of our economy outside of state government and the need for more corporate travel from these companies. The airport now does close to one million people on some months and has done over 10M during 12 month periods, I have to imagine that number will continue to climb steadily.

I think this is a great,great looking terminal. Terminal B sucks ass. I'm embarrassed when I pick someone up from that terminal. Terminal A is okay, though.

An important factor is to now get the DNA line running out to the airport. A recent trip to Portland continually reminds me of this. There is nothing like being able to jump on light rail type transportation at the airport and go straight to where you need to go.

The latest estimate was 2027!! That is wayyyy too long. Hopefully the city can make that project a priority, along with the Intermodal, when the next round of funding from the transportation bond is allocated that will focus more on public transit.

The expansion will be funded using a variety of sources, including federal grants, airport revenue bonds, passenger charges and internally generated funds.

Joie de Vivre Names its Sacramento Hotel

The Citizen Hotel

I have totally dug everything about this project and was one of my favorites out there, but I'm a little disappointed the name. I guess if that is the worst thing that happens, it'll be a success though.

I was just expecting something different. Not sure what, but just something different for the name. It seems so, 'shit, I can't think of anything, let's just name it the Citizens Hotel'

At least it wasn't named something ridiculous and tacky like, "Capitol Hotel", "Governors Hotel" or "Hotel Sacramento" I'm sure the name will grow on me, but my first reaction was eh.

In all though, I still can't wait to gete a look of the inside when they open.

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Bob Shallit: Citizen Hotel name chosen to reflect Sacramento
By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist

It's a little different, Chip Conley admits. But he says the name he's selected for the boutique hotel his company is opening downtown next year is perfect.

The Citizen Hotel.

"It's iconic -- a name you'd use in Sacramento and not in other places," says the CEO of Bay Area-based Joie de Vivre Hospitality, which is remodeling an 82-year-old office tower at 10th and J streets into a 197-room hotel with five penthouses and a terrace overlooking the Capitol.

The name was the result of a lengthy process that included meetings with hundreds of Sacramentans. It's intended, Conley says, to reflect the pride locals have in their city as well as the role Sacramento plays as a site of political discourse.

The interior design is not finished, but Conley has a few details. The lobby will have the look of a "private law library," he says. A staircase will lead to a mezzanine lounge -- "a great perch to see the celebrities checking in," he says.

The overall feel of the place?

Sort of like Sacramento itself, the CEO says.

"It will be classic and timeless on the outside -- all-American and slightly traditional," he says. "But when you look under the surface, you'll see something more hip and sophisticated with a lot of surprises."

Sutter Housing

Designed by LPA Sacramento

Project Description: This urban-infill project in Mid-town Sacramento features fee-simple, for-sale housing. The all-brick exterior ties in to the existing look of the neighborhood. The project met the challenges of creating attractive and marketable units within a dense environment and received strong neighborhood support.

Units range from 1080 s.f. to 1260 s.f. and include 4 duplex live/work units and 24 single-family, 2 bed-2 bath units. 12 units face directly to N Street and 20 units face raised landscape courtyards.

This project is currently underway and I really dig the brick exterior... I hope the brick looks genuine and not prefabricated.

Project Information:
Site Area: .735 Acres
Density: 43.6 Units/AC
Housing: 32,000 s.f.
Units: 32
Parking: 32

New Proposals for East End Gateway Sites 2 and 3

Next Friday CADA is going to be recommending the new developer for the two East End Gateway sites at 16th and O. I don't know who they are recommending though, but I will attempt to make the meeting.

Late last year Loftworks pulled out of developing the two sites and CADA has been fast at work to bring in new people to build. There were 4 proposals submitted, all by local development firms which I am very happy about.

Lambert has dragged their feet on sites 1 and 4 for too long. If they are not willing to move forward, I would be glad to see one of the below developers take over those sites.

Here are the proposals: (sorry no renderings)
- New Faze Development -
- Site 2
36 Units
5,500 Retail
- Site 3 -
53 Units
5,200 Retail
Total: 89 Units (81 Market Rate Apartments and 8 for sale town homes), 10,700 sf Retail, 101 Parking

- Ravel Rasmussen Properties and Separovich / Domich Development -
- Site 2 -
24 Units
6,400 Retail
- Site 3 -
45 Units
7,200 Retail
Total: 69 Market Rate Apartments, 13,600 sf Retail (part of the the 13K retail wold be used for office space), 94 Parking

- St Anton Partners -
- Site 2 -
36 Units
2,700 Retail
- Site 3 -
50 Units
4,200 Retail
Total: 86 Housing Units (40% Affordable), 6,900 Retail, 118 Parking

- SKK Developments -
- Site 2 -
70 Units
7,300 Retail
- Site 3 -
96 Units
4,300 Retail
Total: 166 Market Rate Condos, 11,600 Retail, 265 Parking

The New Faze proposals looks very similar to the Loftworks proposals with a mix of apartments and for sale townhouses. Like the old Loftworks proposal, I really like the for-sale town homes. Strong up and coming company.

The Ravel Rasmussen Properties and Separovich / Domich Development proposal is the smallest of the four, besides that, the part that doesn't sit well with me without knowing more info is ground floor office space as part of the retail mix. Not big on that. Solid company though that has been around for a while.

The St Anton looks very interesting with the 40% affordable housing in the mix, but the retail square footage is pretty low. Experienced affordable housing developer.

SKK Developments looks solid. Good density and amount of retail. Since it's a dense proposal, my guess is it would be a taller building like L Street Lofts. Built similar projects in midtown already. Should have the ability to move quickly

Can't really decide which I like best until I get more info. I'm going to try and attend the CADA meeting next Friday to find out more.