New Courthouse Agreement Paused

I have learned recently from the Office of Court Construction and Management that the Sacramento acquisition phase funds for building a new Sacramento Criminal Courthouse have been re-appropriated but funding is still dependent on the final State budget. There has also been an agreement on price for the preferred site and OCCM real estate staff are now working on the purchase and sale agreement; however, negotiations have been paused. I have a hunch that we won’t see any movement on this project till early next year after the elections and budget issues have been resolved. No renderings of the proposed courthouse have been released.

Capital Secured for Capitol Lofts

CADA has announced that the Capitol Lofts project (CADA Warehouse), located at 11^th and R Streets, was award $18 Million in low-income housing tax credits. The federal tax credits will allow the Capitol Lofts to move forward and start construction within the next seven months.

Next spring, CADA’s development partners, CFY Development and Holliday Development, will be begin constructing 116 mixed-income housing units and 23,000 square feet of commercial retail space. The construction will be completed in the spring of 2015. When finished, you will see a mixed-use, transited-oriented, brownfield, historic adaptive rehab, and infill development project that will continue the transformation of R Street’s Historic District that began with the streetscape project completed earlier this year. The $41 million complex will have underground parking and a courtyard between the warehouse and new construction.

The historic six story warehouse (built in 1895) will be brought back to life; supplemented with new construction on the adjacent ‘pit’ that combines two levels of parking with a multi story 60 ft high new building wrapped in brick. Dwelling Units per Acre: 131.5. Learn more and stay updated by going here, here, and here.

Renovated Hotel Berry

Hotel Berry, 729 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Last spring, the 83-year-old Hotel Berry began renovations at a cost of $24.5 million to completely renovate and modernize the historic hotel. The depression-era six-story mixed use hotel had fallen into severe disrepair, but after being bought by Jamboree Housing Corporation in 2007 for $5 million, the agency was able to finance the project with $13.6 million in tax credit equity, $10.1 million in permanent financing from Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and $500,000 in federal weatherization funds. U.S. Bank provided $5.5 million in construction financing.

Hotel Berry, 729 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 - 1926

The historic hotel was built in 1929; the Berry was once a functioning hotel but has been used as low-income housing for single occupants since the 1960s. At that time, there were about 2,300 single-room occupancy apartments in the city. With 104 Single Room Occupancy (SRO) studios and a manager’s unit, the total cost break down per room is $240,000 per unit to renovate.  The hotel is scheduled for completion in the next 4 to 6 weeks and now called The Studios at Hotel Berry.

Hotel Berry, 729 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814



Hotel Berry, 729 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 - 1926

Nomination of Maydestone as Historic Place

Maydestone - 1001 15th Street, Sacramento, CA 95614

Next week the Preservation Commission will consider nominating the Maydestone Apartments to the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1910, the building will be eligible as an important element contributing to the urbanization of Sacramento in the early 20^th century and as an excellent representative of Mission Revival design in Sacramento.

Last year the building finished up rehabilitation at a cost of $7.2 million which restored the building in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standard of Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.        

http://maydestone.com/

Photo by http://nicholaswray.com/

L Street Lofts Now Renting

L Street Lofts - 1818 L Street, Sacramento CA 95811

The L Street Lofts just became more affordable to those desiring to live at this midtown location. If you want to rent, they range from $1,825 for one bedroom to $3,150 for a one bedroom Penthouse. If you would rather buy a condo, Zillow show the sale of a 663 sf. unit on the 6th floor for $210,000 last April… making the estimated monthly mortgage payment $758. Buying a unit seems to be the better way to go, but don’t forget the HOA fees, I believe that’s an additional $250 per month.

L Street Lofts

Federal Grant Secured for Train Depot

Sacramento Valley Train Station Depot - 401 I Street

Sacramento’s historic Sacramento Valley train station has been awarded $15 million by a Federal Grant to rehabilitate the outdated depot. The money will be matched by local funds to include adding air conditioning and modern heating, fixing stairs and elevators, renovating bathrooms, and creating new spaces for leasable use. The city plans include a restaurant in what is now a large, unused space adjacent to the train depot's main waiting room. Work is expected to start next summer.

The station was originally built by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1926 $2.3 million.

Light Rail to the River District

The first phase of the Green Line connecting downtown Sacramento to the River District and extending 1.1 miles north to Richards Boulevard and 7th Street at the Township 9 development, will be ready for service this Friday.

The Green Line will eventually extend light rail 12.8 miles north from downtown Sacrament through Natomas and the Sacramento International Airport. The Green Line to the River District will operate as an independent circulator, connecting to existing tracks south of H Street and operating through downtown to the 13th Street light rail station.

In conjunction with the City of Sacramento's two major development projects (The Railyards and Township 9) and the River District Specific Plan, the Green Line to the River District will provide a key transit link from these developments to downtown Sacramento.

The Green Line to the River District is RT's first design-build track construction project.  The cost of the design-build contract is $44.4 million.

Project Benefits

This project is the first phase of a larger project that will provide improved transit service tot he Natomas communities and beyond. It will also demonstrate RT's ability to deliver a locally-funded project that supports the Sacramento region's Blueprint principles by tying transit service to future development and promoting patterns of smart growth.

The Green Line to the River District will provide public investment in a corridor identified for redevelopment, which will lead to needed private investment, and provide immediate benefits to existing businesses along the corridor.

Trains are expected to operate on a 30-minute frequency and generate an additional 6,540 daily boarding’s.

Reducing Minimum Parking Standards

Existing parking requirements for all development in and around downtown Sacramento are currently under review with plans to reduce or eliminate minimum parking standards. The City’s Planning Commission has been discussing plans to reduce minimum parking standards over time to promote walkable neighborhoods and districts and to increase the use of transit and bicycles.

According to the published reports; The Zoning Code’s parking requirements for new land uses are outdated and designed primarily for suburban development, as opposed to redeveloping our existing urban and traditional neighborhoods. These existing neighborhoods often include the reuse of lots and buildings that were created prior to the significant increase in the use of the automobile.

The City of Sacramento Zoning Code Parking Update is a citywide effort to fundamentally reform how Sacramento plans, designs, builds, evaluates, and thinks about its parking resources.

Throughout Sacramento there is a large amount of publicly available parking that already exists, but is largely underutilized. While several stakeholders mentioned that on-street parking congestion is a key concern, data show that there is ample off-street parking capacity at peak hour, with almost 46,000 vacant spaces in the Center City alone.

It is increasingly difficult to fit the current amount of parking required into a buildable project as the site and project become smaller.

The Problem:

• Parking requirements can create substantial challenges to not only the cost, design, and development of infill projects but also the community’s perceived negative impacts of the new development.

• Current regulations do not acknowledge the benefits of mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods that are well-served by transit in terms of reducing trips and the need for parking; they also do not provide incentives for owners of existing parking facilities to share their parking when it is not being used.

• Current regulations are inflexible both in how off-street parking can be provided but also in how parking lots are designed.

• Many existing infill sites contain little or no parking.

• New infill development is often expensive and cannot afford the cost or space required for suburban parking standards.

Timeline:

1. Planning Commission Discussion of the Preliminary Analysis March 8, 2012

2. Planning Commission Confirmation of Key Findings and May 10, 2012 Recommendations

3. Law & Legislation Committee Confirmation of Key Findings June 7, 2012 and Recommendations

4. Adoption of Report and Ordinances September 2012

Read more here, here & here.

'Cap City Sips' Summer Happy Hour

This summer, Downtown Sacramento Partnership and local downtown businesses have joined forces to create a budget-friendly happy hour promotion for the Downtown District. Each restaurant or bar participating in Cap City Sips will offer a happy hour menu every Wednesday from 3-7pm featuring $2 beers, $3 wine, and $4 cocktails. The deals will continue each week all summer long, today through August 29. Since the price points are exactly the same at each participating location, patrons will have a chance to try multiple venues throughout the course of the 3-monthpromotion.

Participating restaurants and bars to date include 4th Street Grille, Blue Prynt, Capitol Garage, Dive Bar, Fat City Bar & Café, The Firehouse Restaurant, Frank Fat’s, House Kitchen & Bar, Kupros Bistro, The Melting Pot, Michelangelo’s, Monsoon’s, O’Mally’s Irish Pub, Pizza Rock, Public Market Bar (PMB) at The Sheraton, Pyramid Ale House, River City Brewing Company, River City Saloon, Ten22, and Tequila Museo Mayahuel. 

http://downtownsac.org/events/sacramento-happy-hour/

Investor Buys L Street Lofts

Nearly a year after developer Sotiris Kolokotronis mixed-use loft project at 18th and L streets failed to find a buyer in a foreclosure auction on the Sacramento courthouse steps, a southern California investor has paid $21.5 million for most of the L Street Lofts in midtown.  The project was originally built for $55 million and sold 22 of the 92-unit condominium before a suit was filed in 2009 to foreclose.  The now defunct La Jolla Bank, which made a $33 million loan to construct the L Street Lofts was shut down by federal regulators in 2010 and its assets were purchased last year by OneWest Bank.

Source: Sacramento Business Journal

$795K in Funding for 16th Street Greenscape

The Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) has been awarded $795,000 in funding from the Strategic Growth Council Urban Greening Grant Program (Prop 84) for the 16th Street Greenscape Project.  CADA was one of the few agencies to receive funding over $75,000 and was one of 50 projects selected out of 260 applicant proposals.

The purpose of the 16th Street Greenscape Project is to:

 •Reduce storm water runoff from 16th Street and its sidewalks and reduce water pollution flowing to the Sacramento River

 •Significantly increase the amount of permeable landscaped space in the public right-of-way

 •Reduce air pollution and increase shade

 •Educate the public about the environmental benefits of sustainable streetscape design

 •Support and catalyze urban infill development

 •Improve pedestrian safety and walkability

 •Enhance the physical unity of the 16th Street project area

CADA’s Prop 84 funding award will help to complete the project designs, construct seven intersection bulb-outs, install 16 storm water retention units, and plant 28 street trees. 

CADA’s infill project developers are also participating in the construction of 4 intersection bulb-outs, curbs, gutters and sidewalks in conjunction with the publically-funded storm water retention units.

Maintenance will be carried out by the Midtown Property and Business Improvement District PBID, CADA’s project developers/owners, and the Friends of Fremont Park.  In addition to these partners, other key partners include the City of Sacramento Departments of Utilities and Transportation, the University of California, Davis Arboretum and landscape design students, 16th Street property and business owners, CADA tenants, and neighborhood residents.  Public access to all parts of the project will be unlimited and construction is expected to start in Spring 2013.

Source: http://www.cadanet.org/latest-news/cada-receives-795k-in-funding-for-16th-street-greenscape/

Capitol Towers Sold for $64 million

Beverly Hills-based real estate investment firm Kennedy Wilson has purchased Capitol Towers, completed in 1960, downtown Sacramento complex that includes a 409-unit apartment tower and low-rise garden apartments.

The Southern California company and its partners bought the property at 1500 Seventh St., for $64 million, with $50 million in financing from HFF/Freddie Mac at 3.51 percent, fixed for seven years.

A partnership controlled by the Bond Cos., a nationally known developer with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, bought Capitol Towers in June 2007. Property records show the partnership borrowed $43 million on the parcel the same day it changed hands.

Capitol Towers has 203 units in its 15-story tower and 206 villa units surrounding the tower. The villa portion is zoned for up to 1,290 units, and the tower features six ground-floor retail outlets.

Source: Sacramento Bee

Fred Mayes Jewelers Clock Restored

Last week City of Sacramento restored the historic Fred Mayes Jewelers clock to its home at 10th and J streets. Time stood still for the mid-20th century clock for 15 years until repair work began last June. The clock was returned to the period of its historical significance. – the art deco style popular when it was designated as a City historic landmark in June of 1982.

The clock is likely more than 100 years old, although the first clear evidence is a 1924 photo of the clock in its original design in front of 1009 K St., its original location. The clock on K Street was located outside the Wiesen and Monk Jewelers until the business was moved to its current location at 10th and J in 1946. It stood outside the one-time Mayor Art Monk’s jewelry store. The jewelry store was purchased by Fred Mayes in 1963. Mayes donated the clock to the City of Sacramento in 1993. Mayes retired in 1998. The clock’s exterior is different than when it left for the foundry in June. As historical experts recommended, a stainless steel case be added to prevent vandalism and preserve the original parts.

Some of the parts of the refurbished clock are new and others original: The mechanical clock movement has been replaced with a modern electronic movement, which will not require winding. The clock will keep accurate time through GPS and will automatically correct itself after power outages or time changes. The imported Italian neon will highlight the art deco engagement style ring design topped off with an illuminated diamond solitaire.

Above info provided by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership

16th Street Streetscape Plan

Next Tuesday the 8^th, the City of Sacramento will move forward with plans to improve the streetscape and pedestrian friendliness of 16th Street, the City has evaluated a conceptual plan provided by Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA) and then developed 30% design plans as well as completed environmental review for streetscape improvements on 16th Street from “S” Street to the Capitol Avenue/ “N” Street alley.

The 30% plans show the preliminary design of new streetscape enhancements along the corridor: including new streetlights, curb extensions, landscaping, and traffic signal upgrades. Funding for the projects being provided by CADA in the amount of $160,000. Sacramento Granicus 

Record High Office Vacancy

As reported by the SacBee, The Sacramento region office vacancy rate increased in this year's first quarter to an all-time high of 23.74 percent, according to commercial real estate brokerage firm Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank.

The rate increased 0.36 percent from the previous quarter, reflecting 366,000 square feet of additional vacant space in the region's 22 office submarkets. This is nearly equivalent to the size of "The Emerald Tower" being almost completely empty at 300 Capitol Mall which is an 18-story office tower and 383,238 square feet.

In all, vacant office space in the region totals nearly 16 million square feet. This is not the economic recovery we have been told was right around the corner. 

10 Percent Cut for New Sacramento Courthouse

The Judicial Council has endorsed a cost-cutting direction for court construction statewide, including the reassessment of 13 projects and further construction budget trimming on 24 projects. The council approved recommendations from the Court Facilities Working Group that are expected to yield significant, long-term savings throughout the $5 billion program.

The New Sacramento Criminal Courthouse must reduce hard construction costs by a minimum of 10 percent. Currently the proposed courthouse for Sacramento is estimated to cost $437,516,000 million. A 10 percent cut will reduce costs by $43,751,600 million. One recommendation made by the Judicial Council is that Sacramento reduces number of courtrooms from 44 to 42 to reflect reduction of 2 new judgeships, pending fall 2012 Judicial Council action to adopt update to new judgeship requirements, in addition to 10% reduction. The new courthouse budget would now be $393,764,400 million with a target to achieve low-cost construction methodologies.

Senate Bill 1407 was enacted in 2008 to authorize up to $5 billion in funding for new and renovated courthouses using court fees, penalties, and assessments rather than taxpayer revenues from the state’s General Fund. Since 2009, more than $1.1 billion in funding originally designated for courthouse construction has been borrowed, swept to the state’s General Fund, or redirected to court operations.

 

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/jc-20120424-itemD.pdf

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/oc12-Apr_24.pdf

Railroad Track Relocation

Sacramento railroad track relocation project (click to enlarge)

This project is relocating and realign about 2.3 miles of Union Pacific railroad track to make room for an expanded Sacramento Valley Station, which will be turned into an intermodal hub that will handle Amtrak and Capitol Corridor service as well as light rail and bus services. The cost to relocate the track is $45 million and paid for by both The Department of Transportation that won $20 million in federal stimulus money and more than $25 million in state Proposition 1B money.

The track relocation project began in April of last year is estimated to be completed in December 2012.

Wells Fargo Center 20th Anniversary

Wells Fargo Center under construction in 1991

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the Grand Opening for the Wells Fargo Center on Capitol Mall. As Sacramento’s tallest building at 423 ft, it has a distinctive curved copper roof caps the building, with a cleft in its middle as a postmodern architectural style. Inside the building there is a five-story clear glass atrium with granite and marble walls with a Wells Fargo history museum is located in the lobby and Il Fornaio Restaurant.

Wells Fargo Center under construction in 1991

The architect Hellmuth, Obata and Kassenbaum (HOK) designed the tower which also won the BOMA Building of the Year Award for 1994. This 502,000 sf. building occupies an entire 2.3 acre city block with a masonry & granite exterior. There are a total of 33 floors (30 on ground, 3 below), 13 elevators count and an adjoining 6-story parking garage.

Wells Fargo Center under construction in 1991

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.

Wells Fargo Center 2008

Wells Fargo Center, 400 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814, California, USA.

Cost Reductions Urged for New Sacramento County Courthouse

The Judicial Council working group overseeing the judicial branch’s facilities program is recommending that 13 planned courthouse projects be reassessed with the goal of significantly lowering their costs. Options to be considered in these projects may include significantly reducing square footage, undertaking renovations instead of new construction, evaluating lease options, and using lower-cost construction methods where feasible.

The Sacramento Courthouse is recommended to "Reduce Costs Now" by the Judicial Council. The current proposal includes: 44 courtroom, 405,500 sf., and an estimated total cost: $437,516,000. Expected completion: 1Q 2015

The committee will also recommend to the Judicial Council that the remaining 25 active projects funded under Senate Bill 1407 continue as planned, but undergo other cost reductions as they proceed. See the list of recommendations here.

The working group’s recommendations are expected to be considered by the Judicial Council at its April 24, 2012, meeting. The council can accept, modify, or reject the recommendations, which will be posted on the California Courts website.

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

Arena Effort Dead

Yesterday Mayor Kevin Johnson admitted “Is the deal as we know it dead? Absolutely.”  According to the Sacramento Press, The breaking point for Johnson, he said, was the Maloofs’ refusal to put up collateral for the city’s refinance of their loan. I personally can’t believe this was not in the agreed upon in the March 1st framework… but apparently it wasn’t. In addition, the Maloof’s also refused to pay $3.26 million in pre-development costs for a building they would not own. This doesn’t sound all that odd to me. Why as a renter of a new building (Maloof’s) would they also pay for the pre-development costs? Those costs are traditionally picked up by the owners which in this case would be the city.

This is all a sad state of affairs. If the Kings go, don’t think the city will just pick-up an expansion team to fill the void. … that would be an additional cost of $100 to $300 million payed to the NBA and its owners.