A new downtown high-rise for county courts?
By Bob Shallit
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Published: Friday, May. 22, 2009 - 2:14 pm
A downtown block now home to a two-story parking garage is the mostly likely site for Sacramento's next government high-rise: a 12- to 16-story courts building.
As part of a statewide upgrade of more than 40 California courthouses, state officials have been quietly scoping out possible locations to ease the space crunch at the Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse downtown on Ninth St.
A couple of sites in the central business district have been considered, and discussions also have been held with developer Thomas Enterprises about building at the nearby downtown railyard site.
But the county-owned block bounded by Seventh, Eighth, G and H streets -- just west of the Schaber building -- is getting the most consideration now, says Rob Leonard, the county's economic developer director and a key participant in project talks.
"If you consider proximity to (the Schaber building) as a driving force, you'd have to say it's the leading contender," Leonard says.
Leonard and officials with the state's Administrative Office of the Courts stress that the process is still at an early stage. Construction on the estimated $540 million project is unlikely to begin before 2012. And it could be delayed further if funds are diverted to ease California's budget crunch.
Leonard sees the building as an economic stimulus and a much-needed design statement for downtown.
One of his goals is to not just "plop down ... another big state compound" in an area already filled with monolithic governmental structures. One option:
Build a narrow high-rise for the courts, paired with a building that provides various mixed uses, including housing.
"The idea," Leonard says, "is to bring new life and new uses into that government zone."
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