Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[ozone]

Originally Posted by snfenoc

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/04/16/daily43.html?surround=lfn


Westfield taps downtown plaza design firm
Sacramento Business Journal - 2:34 PM PDT Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Westfield Corp. Inc. has selected Callison, a retail design firm, to collaborate on the redesign of Sacramento's Downtown Plaza.

The Seattle-based firm was chosen partially for its familiarity with urban retail project, Westfield said.

Westfield has submitted a redevelopment plan to the city of Sacramento that would include new theaters, a larger food court in a different location, a grocery store and a new Target store. The plan, which has been estimated to cost as much as $80 million, was recently resubmitted to the city.

"Although still in the city approval process, teaming with Callison to revitalize Downtown Plaza with new life, energy and design further reinforces that commitment," said Larry Green, Westfield's senior vice president for development. "The new center will be more vibrant, friendly and attractive for our shoppers and retailers." Westfield anticipates proceeding with the work in stages. Westfield has said the entire job could take two years. The project needs approval from the city's design and planning commissions.

This is also the first I've heard of a timetable so that seems like another positive. I know it's hard to think positive about Westfield but some improvement is better than none.

[downtownserg89]

Originally Posted by pearljammer

Is anybody else going to this? I was thinking of checking it out... so long as it's not a formal event. I'm just wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

i'm going! i'm sure you guys will reconginze me.

[ltsmotorsport]

So is concept b-1 out? I liked its street design best.

click here for pdf

[Phillip]

Originally Posted by ozone

Thanks for the update

Dixon has no issue with a racetrack in Midtown Sacramento though!

[TowerDistrict]

yes... B is out. and that was my favorite as well.

the catch to concept A-2 is that this concept allows for a larger open space park area, by going vertical with the buildings - as concept A-1 had a smaller park, but only two towers. So maybe if A-2 was chosen, the developer would be building upwards?

Choosing Concept C would basically mean that the city does not feel like moving the storm water facility. Though the developer did extensive studies on this and determined that the costs to moving it vs. fixing it and building a park ontop were nearly identicle.

[sugit]

Whoa...the new layout of the forums was weird at first. Looks like Sac, Bay Area, SD, and "Southland" are all broken out into separate forums. I guess every other cities topics now won't get lost in the dozens of:

"Los Angeles: Lets see how many repetitive topics we can post on one board"

anyways...

I found some renderings of the Studios for the Performing Arts for anyone interested

"Rehearsal, office, and classroom space for The Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Opera, Sacramento Philharmoic Orchestra, and California Musical Theatre. Project is currently under going 11.5M fund raising efforts. Project is expected to be completed in 2 years."

It's on the empty lot on 14th and H next to the Music Circus and Brew It Up. Looks like a 5-story building.

[TowerDistrict]

^^^ nice find! Looks pretty good, and MUCH bigger than i was expecting.

I'm hoping the east side isn't a windowless wall though. that side faces music circus, and would be a highly visible. it would also provide a nice view for those inside the studios.

[downtownserg89]

hooray. it's about time they do something with that empty lot! it made that area look lame and depressing. when will it be built/completed?

[sugit]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

^^^ nice find! Looks pretty good, and MUCH bigger than i was expecting.

I'm hoping the east side isn't a windowless wall though. that side faces music circus, and would be a highly visible. it would also provide a nice view for those inside the studios.

Very good point, I hadn't even thought about the east side.

Originally Posted by downtownserg89

hooray. it's about time they do something with that empty lot! it made that area look lame and depressing. when will it be built/completed?

I think they want it done in 2 years. They are currently selling naming right for the project to raise money. It's a 25M project with the city kicking in 9M, a 5M loan, and 10-11M in donations

Here is how it breaks out:
Lead Donor: $5M Requested: Naming Rights (They said this one is imininet)
Ballet School Naming Rights: $1.5 - 2M
Studio One Naming Rights: $1 - 1.5M
Studio Two Naming Rights: $1 - 1.5M

[ltsmotorsport]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

yes... B is out. and that was my favorite as well.

the catch to concept A-2 is that this concept allows for a larger open space park area, by going vertical with the buildings - as concept A-1 had a smaller park, but only two towers. So maybe if A-2 was chosen, the developer would be building upwards?

Choosing Concept C would basically mean that the city does not feel like moving the storm water facility. Though the developer did extensive studies on this and determined that the costs to moving it vs. fixing it and building a park ontop were nearly identicle.

Dammit! I only sorta like the other concepts, but more building height is always good.

Sugit, I'm not seeing the pics.

[Phillip]

Originally Posted by sugit

Whoa...the new layout of the forums was weird at first. Looks like Sac, Bay Area, SD, and "Soutland" are all broken out into separate forums.

Well I think I like the new board architecture. It's usually the Sac threads I read and now they're all conveniently gathered together.

Here are the viewing statistics for the four new subsections right now:

Sacramento: 24 viewers
Bay Area: 6 viewers
Southland: 15 viewers
San Diego: 2 viewers

Sacramento has more people reading skyscraperpage than the other three boards put together, and we're the smallest place!

What does it mean?

[downtownserg89]

Originally Posted by Phillip

Sacramento has more people reading skyscraperpage than the other three boards put together, and we're the smallest place!

What does it mean?

that we're cooler than everyone else. duh!

[urban_encounter]

Westfield taps downtown plaza design firm
Sacramento Business Journal - 2:34 PM PDT Wednesday, April 18, 2007


Westfield Corp. Inc. has selected Callison, a retail design firm,
to collaborate on the redesign of Sacramento's Downtown Plaza.

The Seattle-based firm was chosen partially for its familiarity
with urban retail project, Westfield said.

Westfield has submitted a redevelopment plan to the city
of Sacramento that would include new theaters, a larger
food court in a different location, a grocery store and a
new Target store. The plan, which has been estimated
to cost as much as $80 million, was recently resubmitted
to the city.

"Although still in the city approval process, teaming with
Callison to revitalize Downtown Plaza with new life, energy
and design further reinforces that commitment," said Larry
Green, Westfield's senior vice president for development.
"The new center will be more vibrant, friendly and attractive
for our shoppers and retailers." Westfield anticipates
proceeding with the work in stages. Westfield has said
the entire job could take two years. The project needs
approval from the city's design and planning commissions.

[ozone]

I like the Studios for the Performing Arts building. It's a hell of lot more styling than the Wells Fargo Pavilion.

[downtownserg89]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

just in case anyone is interested... I'll be there in my "Sacramento Riverfront 2025" t-shirt. ha haa

---------------

Docks Area Master Plan & Promenade Design workshop

Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
1020 11th Street, 2nd Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814
(11th & K Streets, above the Pyramid Brewery Company)

Sacramento Riverfront / Docks Area website

you lied! i kept an eye out for that t-shirt. anywho the workshop was really neat. they had great visuals and even had bread and grapes for the public to feast on. i met mister tower district, real cool guy. and some chick was like hey, i know you from SSP. i gave her my autograph. JK. you guys have to notify me on the next workshop gathering.

[NewToCA]

Callison did the design work for the Flatiron Shopping Center northwest of Denver. It was a beautiful design, and if they could pull off an open air version of that center it will be a noteworthy addition to downtown. I still think that the redevelopment of DTP is critical in the short run, need to keep upgrading to create more reasons to get folks to stay there after hours and on weekends.

My wife and I have been going to different areas in downtown and surrounding areas a couple of days per week the past couple of months. Compared to Columbus and Cleveland the city has more life. We are very optimistic that Sacramento is about to really move up (DTP, condos, K st, Railyards) to the category of a great city to visit and reside.

[TowerDistrict]

Back from he Docks workshop. Got to meet Serg, which was cool. Great guy, and a fellow downtown enthusiast - it's only too bad he ain't old enough to come out and drink with the rest of us - But I got a lot of respect for anyone who comes out to these presentations. Hello to Rebecca, who may be lurking right now

--

Anyway - the Docks concepts have really come along, and are looking MUCH more impressive than the previous land use examples posted here. There still is no decision whether the reservoir stays or goes - thus Concept A2 and C still remain in the running.

Forget what i said about the towers not being in the plans - they were in there, and taller than before. If anyone remembers the draft concepts for the docks a couple years ago - the towers looked like that. There were three towers on both concepts, and I'd say roughly 300' each. The towers, however are phase two of the development, so don't expect those hitting the market anytime soon. What is encouraging, is that the towers will likely be factored into the EIR that will be under way late this summer.

The streets in both concepts are of the narrow, human-scale, and slow traffic variety. Parking will be below grade, which allows the development to sit up high and level with the levee at the riverfront. Thus, there is no bunker like transition between - it's seamless and very suited for pedestrian and bike travel.

The riverfront promenade, in my opinion, was the best part. They have some great ideas, including very conceptually driven sidewalks and landscaped areas and piers jetting out into the river. The most creative part, i thought, was the planting of grass or natural flowers and other landscaping in the middle of the rail tracks that run through the project. If anyone here is familiar with New York's Highline project - think along those lines.

Finally the timeline: The city decides which concept to proceed with by the summer. The developers begin the EIR late-summer (August-ish). The entitlement process concludes November/December. Bidding on construction goes out in the start of 2008, with construction starting in October of 2008.

i'll post slides from the presentation when they become available. You peoples will dig it.

whew...

[ozone]

Originally Posted by urban_encounter

Westfield taps downtown plaza design firm
Sacramento Business Journal - 2:34 PM PDT Wednesday, April 18, 2007


Westfield Corp. Inc. has selected Callison, a retail design firm,
to collaborate on the redesign of Sacramento's Downtown Plaza.

The Seattle-based firm was chosen partially for its familiarity
with urban retail project, Westfield said.

Westfield has submitted a redevelopment plan to the city
of Sacramento that would include new theaters, a larger
food court in a different location, a grocery store and a
new Target store. The plan, which has been estimated
to cost as much as $80 million, was recently resubmitted
to the city.

"Although still in the city approval process, teaming with
Callison to revitalize Downtown Plaza with new life, energy
and design further reinforces that commitment," said Larry
Green, Westfield's senior vice president for development.
"The new center will be more vibrant, friendly and attractive
for our shoppers and retailers." Westfield anticipates
proceeding with the work in stages. Westfield has said
the entire job could take two years. The project needs
approval from the city's design and planning commissions.

Some stunning work by Callison architecture :




FlatIron Crossing in Broomfield, Colorado

[downtownserg89]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

Back from he Docks workshop. Got to meet Serg, which was cool. Great guy, and a fellow downtown enthusiast - it's only too bad he ain't old enough to come out and drink with the rest of us - But I got a lot of respect for anyone who comes out to these presentations. Hello to Rebecca, who may be lurking right now

--

Anyway - the Docks concepts have really come along, and are looking MUCH more impressive than the previous land use examples posted here. There still is no decision whether the reservoir stays or goes - thus Concept A2 and C still remain in the running.

Forget what i said about the towers not being in the plans - they were in there, and taller than before. If anyone remembers the draft concepts for the docks a couple years ago - the towers looked like that. There were three towers on both concepts, and I'd say roughly 300' each. The towers, however are phase two of the development, so don't expect those hitting the market anytime soon. What is encouraging, is that the towers will likely be factored into the EIR that will be under way late this summer.

The streets in both concepts are of the narrow, human-scale, and slow traffic variety. Parking will be below grade, which allows the development to sit up high and level with the levee at the riverfront. Thus, there is no bunker like transition between - it's seamless and very suited for pedestrian and bike travel.

The riverfront promenade, in my opinion, was the best part. They have some great ideas, including very conceptually driven sidewalks and landscaped areas and piers jetting out into the river. The most creative part, i thought, was the planting of grass or natural flowers and other landscaping in the middle of the rail tracks that run through the project. If anyone here is familiar with New York's Highline project - think along those lines.

Finally the timeline: The city decides which concept to proceed with by the summer. The developers begin the EIR late-summer (August-ish). The entitlement process concludes November/December. Bidding on construction goes out in the start of 2008, with construction starting in October of 2008.

i'll post slides from the presentation when they become available. You peoples will dig it.

whew...

4 more years! and then i'll be able to join you guys at the bar. and hopefully by then i'll be able to walk around in a suit with a briefcase talking on a cell phone saying, "i'm on my way to the meeting, tell my secretary." haha.

but seriously, i really thought the ideas they had were great. especially the boardwalks into the river with the artificial grass. those looked really cool.

i'm really looking forward to seeing the plaza area with the coffee kiosk, retail stores, and the sitting areas.

oh and i just wanted to say, thanks for sticking around with me after the presentation. i would've felt like a loner and left a lot sooner if it weren't for your company.

[ltsmotorsport]

Well, it sounds like it was all good at the meeting tonight. I'm glad the time line has become more aggressive too, because not too long ago, it seemed like the docks were a long way off. Can't wait to see the updated concepts.