I never thought that I would live to see the day that Sacramento's gay scene would become a destination....

Although i haven't seen the clubs from the inside; I believe that the new addtions will really add a lot of vibrancy to the city nightlife and will probably draw people from up and down the central valley and from the bay area.


If Sacramento can duplicate in the Downtown core what they've done in Midtown, then Sacramento will be an incredible place to live, play and work.

:previous:
Yeah 20th & K is already transformed..but wait until MARRS and the Pick-Me-Up Coffeeshop opens in a few months!

I'm not much of a club kid these days so I refuse to pay that kind of cover. I'm glad people (especially young gay and lesbian) have more sophiscated places to feel safe, meet and have fun without having to go to San Francisco---but it's a steep price to do so don't you think? Inflation I guess and they do have to pay for the construction somehow.

I'll say it again and again that the city has to do something with that intersection to make it safer. Is it going to take another body in the hospital before something is done?

yeah, badlands is hella cool. i was there the weekend it opened, i dont know if you guys remember what i posted, but i was like it's soo lively. unfortunately i didnt even go inside, due to lack of age. but just from the outside you can see how incredibly chic it looks. i wonder what the men's bathroom looks like.

To Urban Encounter,
Now that you call Chicago home, any comment on Chicago Spire?
Have you seen the latest video presentation? its like a skyscraper porn. http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit...drooling-2.gif
http://link.brightcove.com/services/...bcpid770169321

BTW for Serg, Andy (or anyone who has ventured down to Lavender Heights?)

How are the crowds with all of the new competition? Are there enough people to support Faces, Depot, HeadHunters and Badlands??

(Obviously Club 21 caters to Lesbians and the Mercantile has a loyal following)...

When I lived in San Francisco for a short time back in the 90's, I was always amazed how many people I would meet from Sacramento, who would come down to the City to go out. I always thought to myself that if somebody could open a club or two in Sacramento so that people in Sacramento didn't have to drive down to SF, they would make a lot of money and really make K street a destination.

Real quickly so not to divert attention from Sacramento development, the Spire is an incredible proposal that will elevate the Chicago skyline to new heights (literally). This proposal coming as there are already a number of 70, 80 and 90 story buildings currently u/c. And though I may be a bit biased, Chicago just may be the only U.S. city able to pull this off today.. NY is still reeling from 9/11 and few other cities can absorb the number of residential units that the Spire will have....

The local vibe here in Chicago is that Garrett Kelleher may just pull this off.





:haha:

No this is the first time that I've seen the video. But I see what you mean. 150 stories leaves you craving a cigarette and a dirty martini...

(and I don't even smoke)

Views from the Riverwalk
 

Here are a few views I got the other day (4/18) when I was over in training at the Zigg. I'm posting the pics specific to the STRS building under its forum. With that said, on to "Views from the Riverwalk!"

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...Riverwalk5.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...Riverwalk2.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...Riverwalk1.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...Riverwalk3.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...Riverwalk4.jpg



Oh, and Serg? Dearest? Bad Monkey! Bad Monkey! :tomato: :laugh: :tomato:

*hugs*

I went out to Badlands for the first time last week and the it was quite packed, The depot seemed to have much less people than a usual Saturday night. However, I figure once the "newness" of badlands wears off, more people should go back to the depot. I can't speak for the business at faces that night, but I prefer badlands to faces by a wide margin.

Is it true that the depot will undergo renovations in the near future?

oh and Sergie, the bathrooms were quite nice;)

Old building hits new heights as office lofts

Location is key for mostly hidden structure with easy Capitol access
Sacramento Business Journal - April 20, 2007
by Michael Shaw
Staff writer

While AKT Development Corp. and developer Anthony Giannoni are working on plans for another office tower east of the Capitol, they have decided to restore the former Sacramento home of Pacific Bell, a nearby building that dates to the 1920s.

And the office lofts they're planning to put there are unique to downtown, brokers say.

Work began this week on the seven-story, horseshoe-shaped building known as 1414 K Street, which recalls an earlier era with its solid concrete construction and facade of brick, stone and touches of iron.

"We're trying to restore it to the grand, old building it was," Giannoni said.

He described a complete "gutting" of the 50,000-square-foot building that will reveal 12-foot-high ceilings for the first time in years. The ground floor has a cathedral ceiling 26 feet high. Most floors had been truncated by dropped ceilings that enclosed ductwork and lighting. Much of that mechanical apparatus is being rebuilt and the lofty space will be a selling point,.

When built, 1414 K enjoyed a prominent spot on a busy thoroughfare. But it has been dwarfed as the city has grown up around it. The building is tucked behind the Sacramento Convention Center on two sides and in the shadow of AKT's 12-story Meridian Plaza office tower on another.

But it's still got a lot going for it beyond a unique veneer, industry players said.

"It's a great location," said Carl Kowall, a longtime independent broker downtown who has sold a dozen office buildings. Most notably, the building is a short walk from the Capitol, making it prime space for lobbyists or organizations that want access. He said the high ceilings would be a draw.

"Parking would also be a key factor," in the property's marketability, Kowall said. "We all love our cars, despite the call for light rail."

Greg Levi, the broker at CB Richard Ellis who is marketing the property, said tenants would use a nearby parking structure until an underground lot is completed connecting the existing Meridian Plaza tower with another one planned for the same block.

Giannoni said he was surprised how many workers in Meridian bike to work each morning and use showers there.

Although it will be considered a quality Class B project when completed, tenants would have the same access as those in Meridian to Class A services, such as security and a gym. But rents would be below the Class A price, perhaps $2.50 to $2.60 a square foot, Levi said.

The gym and other amenities could be moved from the tower to the renovated building.

Former tenants already have vacated the building or will do so shortly, and new ones could be in by late January, Giannoni said. Developers discovered that the molds used to create the exterior features are still available at Gladding McBean LLC in Lincoln, if the firm decides it wants work done on the building's facade.

Kowall said visibility is also a factor potential tenants will consider. The building is tucked away from main thoroughfares.

"It's not about the visibility or view, it's about location," Levi said of the potential attraction of 1414 K. Tenants would be able to walk through the lobby of Meridian Plaza to get to the Capitol.

AKT, founded by Angelo K. Tsakopoulos, bought Meridian Plaza and land for another office building for $75 million in 2004. Giannoni has remained a partner in the Meridian project.

Giannoni said plans for the new office tower are still being reviewed. It's expected to be 23 stories high with nine levels of parking and 300,000 square feet of offices.

While some design elements might be similar to the first phase, city officials don't want twin buildings, Levi said.

Sacramento city spokeswoman Jill Scofield said there have been pre-application meetings with the developers. The city expects a formal application this summer.

Another office tower would further increase pressure on the downtown market, which already has David S. Taylor's new building going up at 621 Capitol Mall and another on the way at 500 Capitol, which is built by Tsakopoulos Investments, a company run by another branch of the family.

"I don't think we're super-saturated yet," Kowall said. "I think this town's growing up."

http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_ima...00-0.jpg?rev=2

Not sure if anyone brought this up or not (senility kicking in...):

INC. Magazine listed their 2007 Hottest Boomtowns and we made the top 20!

List of top twenty in large city category

1.Las Vegas, Nev.
2.Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
3.Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
4.Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla.
5.Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
6.West Palm Beach- Boca Raton, Fla.
7.Raleigh-Cary, N.C.
8.Honolulu, Hawaii
9.Northern Virginia
10.Salt Lake City, Utah
11.Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
12.Jacksonville, Fla.
13.Washington, D.C-Alexandria, Va.
14.Nashville, Tenn.
:banana::tomato:15.Sacramento, Calif. :tomato::banana:
16.Austin-Round Rock, Texas
17.Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
18.Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
19.Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md.
20.Portland, Oreg.-Vancouver-Beaverton, Wash.

Thanks for posting info about 1414 K. I walked by there yesterday and was wondering what the heck they were doing in there because it looked like they were remodeling. I think it's kind of an odd location for lux lofts since it's across the street from the convention center and surrounded by office buildings. Maybe I don't get it. They talk about views but what view will the residents have exactly? It is a beautiful building though.

They are turning the building into office lofts, not residentual. It's going to be Class B space, so I doubt there will be much luxgery other than what Meridian I and II will provide.

It's the perfect location for office lofts... it’s within blocks of the
capitol which is a lobbyist dream. I imagine the view their talking about is
probably looking down K Street since it's almost right on the end of the mall.
I go into the building several times a year and always enjoy the
view to the west.

Is there a Gozilla-size Unicorn buried under Chicago?

Call it spire envy. I think we've discussed Sacramento's lack of a defining landmark already...a St. Louis Arch, a Seattle SpaceNeedle, a Golden Gate Bridge, a Chicago Spire, etc. We have the Tower Bridge and State Capital, neither of which provide a looming presence. Maybe the 301 CM, Aura and many of the other proposals will serve this purpose, but someday I hope we will see a landmark of this caliper in our city. Wishful thinking I guess...

Now, back down to a human scale. The MARRS project will include a Luigi's Pizza by the slice shop, which I am stoked on. If you never eaten at Luigi's on Stockton Blvd. at 13th Ave., you are missing out. I live near there and eat there as often as my aging blood vessels will allow. Try the combo and add linguica, mmmm.

I think if Capital Grand stands a chance at being built - then it would be the iconic, looming presence of Sacramento. I mean, the building would be over two Wells Fargo Centers stacked on top each other, yet sitting on only a quart-block. That tower would also be over 300' taller than the St. Louis Arch.

sweet! any details? ;)

Aura
 

Funny you should ask. In today's Bee:

"The developer of the proposed Aura Condominiums, still working out his financing for the downtown project, has asked for more time to purchase land for the job."

If you are interested, see http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/160000.html for the full article.

:rolleyes: Oh please..what the f'k is an "office loft"?

It's a new hip way to say "small office" ;)

For anyone interested, there are a bunch of EIRs for downtown projects below

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd/...tsProjects.cfm