Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[sactivity]

Originally Posted by kamehameha

I just spoke with the Clark's Construction head office in San Francisco. They said the New Sacramento courthouse construction is moving forward. Groundbreaking is still on schedule for summer 2020.

That's about as close to the "horses mouth" as one can get. So I'll take it as good news!

[innov8]

The States clawing back money from projects all over the state. The UC Facilities Planning
and Management team I work with just lost $17.3 million that was slated for renewal
projects. The contractors don't even know yet, but they will soon.

[Korey]

Good news about the courthouse, but it does look like the Richards Blvd campus is on hold for now with no funding allocated in the latest budget proposal :/

[Pistola916]

I notice today the exterior skin is being installed at the Swing Space state office complex on 10th and O street. Is there any idea why material they are using looks nothing like the rendering. The new Natural Resource building and the other state office building on 12th and O look exactly like the pictures. But the color on the exterior panels look so cheap?

[Majin]

Even though Newsom halted the 7th and Richard complex, I drove by there today and still see grading a pile driver running.

[snfenoc]

Downtown Sacramento gets five-story residential proposal
By Ben van der Meer – Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal
June 9, 2020

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen..._news_headline

Empty for well over a decade, a spot in Downtown Sacramento has a proposal for a five-story project combining residential and short-term rental units.

On the northeast corner of 14th and H streets, Vrilakas Groen Architects has submitted plans for a project with 60 rental units and about 1,700 square feet of ground-floor retail.

Proposed Building:


Current Site:


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Site Address: 1401 H Street
• Architect/Developer: Vrilakas Groen Architects/Lotus Equity Partners
• Some of the units could be used to house actors with the Music Circus (assuming the Music Circus survives). Broadway Sacramento would prefer to set up their actors in short-term apartments over hotel rooms; so they feel more comfortable. This would allow international actors to work with Broadway Sacramento for months at a time.
• No onsite parking.
• Housing mix: (26) Studio Units; (27) 1-Bedroom Units; and (7) 2-Bedroom Units.
• Rent Pricing: Market Rate
• The site was acquired by the Kings, who did nothing with it; so they sold it off. (They got their subsidized Taj Mahal and walled off douche bag playground... why do they care about developing the city any further?)

[Dieler]

Originally Posted by sactivity

Forgive me for asking, as I do not live locally... but can I assume that the new courthouse project is completely off the table now?

Based on a removal notice that I saw today on a tree on the east side of 5th Street between G and H, things are definitely moving forward in some respects with the new courthouse project.

[kamehameha]

I saw a lot ot of dirt moving/construction equipment at the railyards. Looks like they're getting ready to start of a major construction

[Dieler]

Originally Posted by kamehameha

I saw a lot ot of dirt moving/construction equipment at the railyards. Looks like they're getting ready to start of a major construction

But still nothing at the MLS stadium site. Anyone besides me getting concerned about that?

[snfenoc]

Architect trying for adaptive-industrial feel on new Midtown proposal

By Ben van der Meer – Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal
June 16, 2020

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen..._news_headline

Given relatively small lot sizes in Sacramento's urban core, architect Mel Higginbotham said he believes a new proposal at 1908 O St. in Midtown has a lot of upside.

The five-story, 27-unit project is meant to feel like an industrial building adapted into lofts, said Higginbotham, a Grass Valley architect listed as the project applicant.

CURRENT SITE:


PROPOSAL DRAWING:



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Project Name: Multifamily Mid-Rise Apartments
• Architect/Developer: Mel Higginbotham
• Location: East of 19th and O Streets & west of the railroad tracks.
• Number of floors: 5
• Site Information: It's a very small lot - like 1/12th of a block. There is another loft project to west and an industrial building to the east.
• Current Building: A single-story office building that was built in 1967. It does not qualify as historic; so it would be demolished. The architect said he was open to suggestions about using the building materials after demolition.
• Apartment Size: Between 353 and 959 square feet.
• Retail?: Doesn't look like it; but first floor units would be live/work lofts.
• Parking: No onsite parking; but there is an application for 7 alternate spaces.
• Design: Higginbotham says that it should feel like an industrial loft with lots of windows to give "eye on the city."
• Cost Estimate: None available.
• Start Date: Higginbotham wants to start as soon as he gets approvals.

This is an example of a major issue that developers have to consider: Space. A lot of Midtown properties are not very big. Consequently, there is a requirement to build higher to make everything work out. Of course, taller buildings are more expensive; so you can't go too tall. The larger properties in Downtown make it easier for developers to spread out, much to the chagrin of some on this forum.

27 units is not a lot. I am not sure if that'll produce enough rent to justify the build.

The drawing provided by the article doesn't really show how the project fits in with the surrounding properties. It looks like the "front" will actually be the side, facing west I assume?

I don't love the design. I think it has the potential to look really cheap; but I'll take it since the project would add housing.

[Majin]

Not only small lot sizes, but I'm afraid if developers keep building these 5 story projects with a small amount of actual units midtown is going to actually run out of space to build. Empty lots and parking lots are disappearing slowly. There is a lot of buildings that are going to need to be torn down.

[SacTownAndy]

Originally Posted by kamehameha

I saw a lot ot of dirt moving/construction equipment at the railyards. Looks like they're getting ready to start of a major construction

I drove by 7th & Richards today and those old state buildings across from the Township 9 lightrail station are already torn down and cleared for the pending new state offices going there. I don't drive that way often but I was suprised how quickly those came down and they've already graded the land.

[snfenoc]

Originally Posted by Majin

Not only small lot sizes, but I'm afraid if developers keep building these 5 story projects with a small amount of actual units midtown is going to actually run out of space to build. Empty lots and parking lots are disappearing slowly. There is a lot of buildings that are going to need to be torn down.

Midtown is already quite dense. Most of the buildings in Midtown, with the exception of a handful, are under 6 stories. Building a 5-floor, 27-unit structure on 1/12th of a block, in a fairly quiet area, that rests along a minor corridor in Midtown is not gonna hurt anybody.

It's easy to take a snapshot in time and extrapolate. However, we know that cities change over the years and decades. It's not necessary that every building constructed in the past 10 years has to exist 40-50 years from now. A developer could decide to raze a existing structure and build something bigger. In fact, developers are doing that right now. A developer could decide to add onto an existing building and make it bigger. In fact, developers are doing that right now as well.

If the above doesn't ease your mind, I encourage you to take a nice, long walk through Midtown and Downtown. If you're lazy, that's fine; you can take a Google Maps tour of the city instead. I think you'll find there are plenty of undeveloped or underdeveloped properties in Midtown and Downtown. Remember, there is no requirement that a developer must build a tower on an undeveloped block or surface parking lot.

I will also point out that Sacramento has vast undeveloped areas in the Rail Yards and River District.

Really, I think Sacramento will have available land when those magical towers are finally ready to get built.

[SacTownAndy]

There's an article in the Bee today stating that the Republic stadium is still on track to open in 2022. It also mentions that the courthouse and one of the residential projects in the railyard are likely to start this summer as well.

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article242175821.html

[CAGeoNerd]

Originally Posted by SacTownAndy

There's an article in the Bee today stating that the Republic stadium is still on track to open in 2022. It also mentions that the courthouse and one of the residential projects in the railyard are likely to start this summer as well.

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article242175821.html

I haven't seen any activity out at that site, and they're supposed to be open around March or April 2022.. Doesn't sound "on track" to me

[Pistola916]

Originally Posted by SacTownAndy

There's an article in the Bee today stating that the Republic stadium is still on track to open in 2022. It also mentions that the courthouse and one of the residential projects in the railyard are likely to start this summer as well.

https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article242175821.html

That article was written back on April 22nd. I’m not as optimistic of them playing in March 2022. I could see them playing at Bonney for a few months to start the season and open the stadium in the summer 2022. It won’t be surprise if the Republic join MLS in 2023 instead.

[urbanadvocate]

What is the expected height of the courthouse? I assume sim to the new natural resources building?

Any updates on the new kasier?

[Dieler]

Originally Posted by urbanadvocate

Any updates on the new kasier?

Though I haven't seen confirmation of this from anywhere else, a neighbor who is in management at Kaiser's corporate office in Oakland told me a couple of weeks ago that they've put the new Sacramento hospital on hold. The reason given was that treatment is changing to more and more being done at clinics, reducing the need for as many full service hospitals.

I got the impression that Kaiser is taking a pause because of this trend to evaluate what they have and their needs into the future.

What I was told is that the new hospital in the grailyard isn't dead at this point.

[snfenoc]

Demo underway for two Sacramento housing projects
By Ben van der Meer – Staff Writer, Sacramento Business Journal
Jun 25, 2020, 5:57pm EDT

https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramen...-projects.html

Demolition of old, vacant buildings at two sites began this week to make way for new housing, including in one highly visible area of Downtown Sacramento.

Within days, the two-story buildings on the southwest corner of 11th and J streets in Sacramento will be cleared, to be replaced by a seven-story project of 153 apartments above retail space called Cathedral Square. On a similar track, a vacant former Lumberjack Building Materials store and other buildings at 880, 924 and 936 Arden Way is being razed for a two-building project of 120 affordable housing units dubbed Arden Way Apartments.

At 11th and J Streets, construction should begin in the fall. The application for construction has been sent to the city. It has not yet been fully approved.

The Arden Way affordable housing project may also begin in the fall. However, that is depends on whether it receives tax credits.

And majin to complain in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

[Majin]

7 story projects belong in the suburbs, not downtown.

But in all seriousness even though it may take awhile to recover from covid at least we are getting a lot of housing built all over the grid (and finally in downtown proper). In a few years with all of this new housing installed the grid should be considerably more dense and be able to support a lot more retail and more essentials such as more grocery stores and smaller department stores such as the target going in at 19th and J.

But I really don't like how perhaps we are making good progress on density and street life our skyline is not showing any impact. It could end up being in 5 years our street life is 24 hours but from the sky it still looks like Circa 2000 Sacramento.