Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[innov8]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

we've spoke on the forum about how downtown should perhaps have it's
own council district. But this is a shiny example to me of why that's not
really true.

DTP is in Tretheway's district and so is Natomas. If you were him, would
you allow Westfield to expand into another area that directly competes
with the languishing Downtown Plaza?

I guess it all depends on whether or not Westfield tries to aquire land
inside the city limits. If they grab something outside city boundries and
in Sacramento County, they'll probably get to do whatever they want.

I wonder what the DT Plaza would sell for these days? Back in 1999 when
Westfield bought the property as a package with the Eastland Center,
West Covina Mall they paid $127,348,000 for both of them, so now
I'm wondering what the market rate for the mall might be?


According to EDGAR Online http://sec.edgar-online.com/2000/03/23/08/0001005477-00-002403/Section6.asp
the mall is:
Downtown Plaza, a regional mall encompassing 1,191,347 square feet
including 908,758 square feet of retail space and 282,805 square feet of
office, is located in the CBD of Sacramento, California. The retail
component of the complex was constructed in 1971 and the three office
buildings in 1972, 1976 and 1981, respectively. The retail mall was last
renovated in 1993. Anchors include Macy's and Macy's Men's and Furniture
in addition to 405,258 square feet of in-line space and 282,805 square
feet of office space.

[ozone]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

we've spoke on the forum about how downtown should perhaps have it's
own council district. But this is a shiny example to me of why that's not
really true.

DTP is in Tretheway's district and so is Natomas. If you were him, would
you allow Westfield to expand into another area that directly competes
with the languishing Downtown Plaza?

I guess it all depends on whether or not Westfield tries to aquire land
inside the city limits. If they grab something outside city boundries and
in Sacramento County, they'll probably get to do whatever they want.

I'm sorry but this one case does not negate the thousand other examples of why a single council district for the central city is important. Besides I think you're just wrong about this one. And looking at all the retail development in Natomas in last few years that has surely hurt downtown retail as much as a regional mall would have just proves it.

If anything a single representative from the Central City can make a better case before the council that a large mall in Natomas would hurt his/her district. Whereas, with the present system -Tretheway is torn between supporting Natomas and the Central City interests. Since there's more constituents in his district who live outside of the Central City, if push comes to shove, where do you think his loyalities will fall?

[TowerDistrict]

Yeah, you're right it's not THE reason why there shouldn't be one
central city district, but I still think it is one reason.

Tretheway also represents the Railyards. That project along with DTP are
major priorities to the City. More retail in Natomas is far from a priority.

In fact, it's not even encouraged. More job centers in Natomas is a much
higher prioirty, as that was the original plan for Natomas - to alleviate
commuter congestion and create a more self sufficient satellite city. More
big retail would simply be a contiuance of the Anti-Natomas Joint Vision
that's been carried out over the past several years. And I don't think our
council members are in a position right now to further neglect those goals
in favor of some bizarre plan of Westfield.

[ozone]

All I have to say is that what is the city's "official' priorities" and what actually gets the council's approval are often two different things. The Natomas Community Plan is a prefect example of that.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by ozone

If anything a single representative from the Central City can make a better case before the council that a large mall in Natomas would hurt his/her district. Whereas, with the present system -Tretheway is torn between supporting Natomas and the Central City interests. Since there's more constituents in his district who live outside of the Central City, if push comes to shove, where do you think his loyalities will fall?

Consider that one reason we see three different representatives is because by splitting up the central city we have three council persons who now have a loyaty to downtown in some measure. (Maybe some less than others but at least to some degree).. Split that off into one single council district and I guarantee you that the other remaining council memebers will take less of an interest in downtown Sacramento and more of a parochial interest in their own neghborhoods. In the end downtown and midtown would end up with less $$ and attention flowing in that it currently does.

[sugit]

Bob Shallit: Diamonds amid the gloom
Project progress, breakout moves seen despite downturn

It's going to be a tough year for the Sacramento economy, with real estate prices slipping, retail sales slowing and state spending getting squeezed.

But it won't be dull. Despite the unsettled times, our crystal ball for 2008 reveals a bunch of big projects moving forward and a handful of regional companies experiencing breakout years.

Here's our forecast for the Sacramento region's business developments in 2008:

• On the real estate front, look for an accelerated rate of home foreclosures. We see banks taking back 12,000 homes in Sacramento County in 2008, up from about 7,000 this year. The silver lining: Beleaguered lenders will start discounting their repo'd homes, creating some opportunities for great deals.

• The region's office vacancy rate will climb at least one percentage point. How could it not, with 1.5 million square feet of new space coming on the market and perhaps only half of it occupied by new tenants? One result: Office owners will offer even bigger incentives (think bonuses, trips and car leases) to commercial brokers landing new tenants.

• This will be the year Greyhound agrees to move its downtown bus terminal to Richards Boulevard. Yes, we predicted the same for 2006 and 2007. Third time's a charm.

• CalPERS and its development partner, CIM Group, will deliver a scaled-down proposal for the empty block at Third and Capitol Mall. Like John Saca's grandiose but failed plans for a condo tower at the same site, CIM's plans will include condos, a hotel and retail. But probably only 30 floors instead of Saca's 53.

• Aside from the CalPERS proposal, there will be little talk of high-rise condos downtown. But a plucky local builder, D&S Development, will continue to bring to market innovative, smaller condo projects, like its Old Sac lofts.

• A certain local money-management firm will gain global recognition through deals it strikes with several big-name investment banks.

• The California Highway Patrol will – finally – sign a lease to consolidate offices and occupy more than 200,000 square feet of space in West Sacramento.

• Believe it or not, there will be modest progress on K street's blighted western edge. The city will win a six-month-long legal case to wrest properties away from Moe Mohanna on K Street's 700 block. Then developer Joe Zeiden will commission construction drawings for a high-end retail project designed to transform the pedestrian mall.

• We also anticipate progress on fixing up Downtown Plaza. City leaders – after some silly whining about all the top-shelf retail tenants in Roseville's Galleria mall – will provide incentives to Westfield Corp. to remodel the mall. (Note to city: Roseville has the demographics. You don't.)

• Don't hold your breath on that proposal to build a new Kings arena at Cal Expo. Despite all the talk, we don't expect to see any progress on such a problematic site.

• It'll be close, but we think the Citizen Hotel will open at 10th and J streets by year's end, setting a new standard for luxury lodging downtown. Look for additional proposals for downtown hotels.

• Meantime, Bob Leach's Le Rivage hotel will open on the Sacramento riverfront a couple of miles south of the Tower Bridge. And it'll answer a few questions: Does this region attract enough well-heeled visitors to support rooms starting at $250 a night? And can hotel guests find their way to the somewhat obscure location? The answers: Yes and eventually.

• Sacramento's berry queen, Shari Fitzpatrick, will continue to draw national attention. The high point: A 2008 appearance on Oprah Winfrey's TV talk show.

• A monster year is ahead for SynapSense Corp., which makes a wireless sensor system used to regulate temperatures in computer data centers. Following a recent funding round, the Folsom company is poised to boost its client base to 200 and annual sales to $30 million next year.

• Roseville's Pride Industries, one of the biggest U.S. employers of people with disabilities, will keep growing at an amazing clip. Revenues for the current fiscal year, ending June 30, are projected at $140 million. Don't be surprised to see that jump to $200 million the following year.

• State budget cuts will weigh heavily on the regional economy. But one local sector – tech services – will continue to grow briskly. Among the continuing star performers: Visionary Integration Professionals of Folsom.

• It will be a quiet year at Sac International Airport, following the recent arrival of many new domestic and international flights. Don't expect any announcements about direct service from Sactown to Paris or London. But we do anticipate one new route that's, well, almost sexy: ExpressJet's daily service to Fresno.

• Companies serving only local customers will need to hunker down. But not those immersed in the global marketplace. Look for a record-setting year from almond processor Blue Diamond Growers, which exports to worldwide markets and is benefiting from the dollar's decline. Stellar years also will be recorded by NEC in Roseville and DST in El Dorado Hills.

• It will be another tough year for startups, with venture funding remaining flat. One reason: When the economy slows, entrepreneurial folks at places like Intel and GenCorp grow cautious about branching out on their own.

• Still, at least one local company will test the public markets with a stock offering. It could be Davis-based Agraquest.

• Several local venture-backed companies will be acquired. One good bet is Granite Bay's Revionics Inc., a software-maker for the retail industry, that could command nearly $50 million.

• British supermarket chain Tesco will make a big splash in the region, opening more than a dozen Fresh and Easy stores. The fallout? It'll siphon market share mostly from discounters like Winco and Food 4 Less.

[jsf8278]

What a great article. Its nice to see the Bee report on some positive news (or potential news in this case).
Do any of you really think Greyhound will agree to move this year before its lease is up?

[arod74]

I hope Shallit's record on predictions is little better this year than last for Sacramento's sake. If so we can look forward to a lot of good things happening next year. On a side note, does Shallit have a stake in ownership in Shari's Berries? If I have to read one more article on them I'm going to have to beat someone, seems like they have a tidbit in the paper every other week.. jeez

[TowerDistrict]

No. There's no place to move to, and i don't know what Mr. Shallit
means by "Richards Blvd", but we haven't heard any talk of anyone even
discussing plans with Greyhound. On top of that, why would they move the
station now? There's no particular push for the land at 701 L Street. Also,
who would use a Greyhound station as a means to redevelop property on
Richards? That would probably scare off more business than it would attract.

IMO, there's a host of things that need to come before Greyhound's move:

1) a need for a large scale project at 701 L.
2) a developer or the city offering tremendous incentive to move
3) some sort of public transit integration with Richards Blvd.
4) finalized plans for an intermodal with no interim Richards location?

I'd like to see the station move as much as the next person, but I just
don't see any reason why they would right now. Though the Greyhound's
patrons and their station itself is nothing pretty to look at, it's not really a
big concern in my mind. How about first the 700 and 800 blocks get rolling,
Westfield starts renovations, St. Rose of Lima park is remodeled, Hotel
Berry begins work on renovations, some form of an Aura redux is
announced, and so on.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by TowerDistrict

No. There's no place to move to, and i don't know what Mr. Shallit
means by "Richards Blvd", but we haven't heard any talk of anyone even
discussing plans with Greyhound. On top of that, why would they move the
station now? There's no particular push for the land at 701 L Street. Also,
who would use a Greyhound station as a means to redevelop property on
Richards? That would probably scare off more business than it would attract.

IMO, there's a host of things that need to come before Greyhound's move:

1) a need for a large scale project at 701 L.
2) a developer or the city offering tremendous incentive to move
3) some sort of public transit integration with Richards Blvd.
4) finalized plans for an intermodal with no interim Richards location?

I'd like to see the station move as much as the next person, but I just
don't see any reason why they would right now. Though the Greyhound's
patrons and their station itself is nothing pretty to look at, it's not really a
big concern in my mind. How about first the 700 and 800 blocks get rolling,
Westfield starts renovations, St. Rose of Lima park is remodeled, Hotel
Berry begins work on renovations, some form of an Aura redux is
announced, and so on.

I agree 100%..

The proposal at 701 L was just a ruse by Benvenutti to derail any eminent domain talk. Benvenutti has a tenent willing to pay (Greyhound);
and there's just not enough demand for another office building down there.

I think we're unlikely to see anything happen down there for the next few years.

[TowerDistrict]

Oops! correction... meant the Marshall not Berry.

Anyway, all those projects mentioned are actually progressing opposed to
the Greyhound. They will only strengthen the area and contribute to the
value of 701 as a potential area for redevelopment. I just don't agree with
Shallit that it will be anytime this year.

I predict very late 2009 or early 2010 at the earliest - when the Railyards
heat up and if the intermodal makes progress towards securing some funding.

[wburg]

I'd agree that the Greyhound won't move until there is a location with direct light rail service: Greyhound is a form of transportation very much connected with local public transit, and lacking one isn't an option. When that station was built it was within a block of all three local streetcar lines.

While I think I am more fond than most here of retaining the building itself (architecturally it is unique in the city, and is already on the city's historic register) I don't mind the idea of it not being a Greyhound station--but the logical place to put it is at the intermodal station. When they can do so depends on when the city decides what to do, and how to do it, at the intermodal station, and that's one of those complex problems without a simple solution.

Oh, and TD, you weren't entirely wrong about the Berry either. They are transferring ownership to AF Evans, and once they get approved for low-income tax credit they're going to remodel the building. Less dramatic a remodel than the owners of the Marshall want to do (they're going to convert them to efficiency apartments with kitchens, and convert some units to ADA accessible units) but it will make a big difference. The addition of professional management and an on-site case manager (instead of the current owners, who don't care who rents there or how much trouble they cause as long as they get paid on the first) will make the building a better neighbor, too.

[ltsmotorsport]

I really hope the city uses the intermodal plan that is on their website. Any more re-design or anything of the sort, and it will be another 5 years added to the project, with the way Sacramento works.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by ltsmotorsport

I really hope the city uses the intermodal plan that is on their website. Any more re-design or anything of the sort, and it will be another 5 years added to the project, with the way Sacramento works.

Oh i'm quite certain there wll be many more communtiy workshops and charettes before we see anything built.

[benhol]

BTW - There is activity going on at the Firestone Building (16th & L). Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good look, but light was coming into the building, and it looked like most of the roof toward the west side is down.

[sugit]

Originally Posted by benhol

BTW - There is activity going on at the Firestone Building (16th & L). Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good look, but light was coming into the building, and it looked like most of the roof toward the west side is down.

Yup, I drive by that site always everyday. The entire inside has been gutted and there really isn't much left other than the roof and the columns.

How many days countdown 'till my first pint at DeVeres?

[brandon12]

^Saint Patty's day oh-nine will be sick. or rad. whatever the cool kids say these days...

[ltsmotorsport]

Tubular.

[goldcntry]

Fer sure...

[innov8]

We need another sneak peak at the lighting