Sacramento: 301 Capitol Mall: A New Plan for The Towers Site

[jbradway]

Originally Posted by wburg

The developers aren't even proposing 550 units, they are just including 550 as a theoretical maximum number of units with no minimum. And from what I see here and other places, the real concern is bringing housing to the urban core and specifically the business district, where almost nobody lives. In my eyes, the arena is the cherry, and so much emphasis is placed on it that the rest of the "sundae" is essentially ignored, treated as superfluous, or people just assume it will work itself out. "With such a magnificent cherry on top, it stands to reason that the rest of the sundae will be wonderful!" is not an adequate description for someone who wants to know what the rest of the sundae is going to include. Things like the Commons, 301 Capitol, and other mid/high rise projects are outside the scope of the arena project--and while I'm sure none would deny the arena was a factor, I don't really think it was the only factor, or even the most important one. We're seeing a number of threads going here--a dramatic generational increase in interest in central city living, high fuel prices, changes in infrastructure, parking and zoning policy, and other cultural changes that have resulted in dramatic shifts to central city housing all over the nation. It seems silly to assume that none of those forces are at work here, and that housing shifts that have been ongoing for years can all be attributed to an arena project that hasn't even been built yet. But the proponents and local media drive home the point anytime anything happens in the central city. New business opens? It's because of the arena. New building gets built anywhere near downtown? The arena did it. Love the nice weather we're having? Must be the arena.

The world is complex, reducing it to one factor is overly simplistic. The arena won't save downtown and won't destroy it. It's just one of many factors.

You mean like silly balloon analogies?