You wimps disgust and disappoint me
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
. This is called skyscraperpage.com. Please, register your opinions elsewhere. How about
pussybuildings.com?
First of all, let me say I am making assumptions here. I cannot be sure what CIM/CalPERS will propose. Yes, I can pretty much guarantee that if a project is submitted, it won’t have the grandeur of twin 53-story skyscrapers, which is actually just fine with me. I would have no issue with two 35-story towers. A 50-story residential tower and a 25 story office tower (or the other way around) would be wonderful. How about single 50-story tower on one half of the block, and a mid-rise on the other half? Splitting the block in two and doing a single tower (30, 40, 50 stories, whatever) now, and then waiting for a future opportunity to build on the other half also works for me (although with the excavation and pile driving basically done, I think this would be a difficult method to employ). Basically, there are a number of scenarios I would support, and none of them have to match Saca’s vision. However, I don’t want to see a project that is so cheapened, so compromised and so diminished that it reeks of settling for the safest, easiest and quickest bet. An 800 J style project would be settling. Two 15-story buildings would be settling (although a butt-load better than an 800 J style project). Why? First of all, this is not Wankerville, Tennessee. Second of all, the site screams, “Make me into a grand project!!”
Sacramento is not a small town. It is more than capable of supporting a few big projects. Despite the current market, Sacramento’s down town is gaining momentum. Large numbers of people have spoken, and they are saying, “We want high rise living.” True, the market sucks now, but it won’t always suck.
Economics 101: Markets are
Cyclical. Successful operations enter the market at the right time. Saca had terrible timing, and surprise, surprise, the Towers failed. There was nothing uniquely “Sacramento” about the failure. In fact, many other late-coming projects died around the nation. I really hope CIM/CalPERS understands this. Despite what some may think, big projects are not out of scale or inappropriate for Sacramento.
The site we are talking about (301 CM) is not just any old piece of land. It’s at the foot of Capitol Mall, it’s an entire block and the prep work is done. I know there are these magical other places for high rises to be built (this is what some people said when 800 J supplanted Metro Place), but show me one that has as much going for it as 301. Go ahead. I am waiting… By the way, if there are other places for high rises to be built, then there are other places to build your precious little 800 J-style pieces of crap. Leave 301 alone.
What’s wrong with waiting?
If the market is the reason why the Towers did not materialize, please, explain why it would be so terrible for CIM/CalPERS to say, “Let’s wait a few years and see if the market improves.” Conversely, explain why it would be better to go the safe route and build something we will all regret a decade down the road. Are you so impatient to fill a hole (Ha, ha, ha! I just said, "Fill a hole") that you are willing to settle? Why not wait for a “quality” “dense” project that also includes one or more high rises? A certain know-it-all forumer (
![Wink](images/smilies/wink.gif)
) said if CIM/CalPERS chose to wait, the site would sit empty for 15 years and a 30-story office building would be built on it. First of all, I will take a 30-story office building over 800 J’s cousin any time – even if I have to wait 15 years for it. Second, I hope he PM’s me tomorrow’s lottery numbers, because, evidently, he knows the future. Honestly, it is possible the site would be empty for 15 years. Then again, it is possible the site would be empty for only 1 year. It’s certainly attractive to potential developers: It’s ready to accept just about anything, so whoever develops the land won’t exactly have to start from scratch. In addition, the City is more accepting of and accommodating to development than it was in the past. If one combines those factors with an increasing demand for upward development and improved market conditions in the next 2-5 years (possibly), it’s hard to conclude the site would sit empty for 15 years. Sure, there would be an ugly hole in the ground for awhile (I thought this had nothing to do with image and aesthetics – only “quality” and “density” matter, right urban?), but only for awhile. Besides, a hole in the ground = potential. What if, a few years ago, the guy who owned the old Wells Fargo building decided that nothing was happening, nothing would happen, and he should simply remodel and move in some lobbying firm? Would we have a new 25-story building going up at 500 CM? Maybe not. What if the City lost its mettle and decided to turn Lot A into a 7-story apartment building? Would we have the US Bank Tower and the possibility of Aura? Maybe not. Good things come to those who wait. If CIM/CalPERS cannot “pencil out” a development for 301 that at least makes an attempt at being grand, then I think they should wait. Come on people. Don't be so short-sighted!
Finally, let me say that my opposition to a project would amount to pissy comments on this forum, a pissy email or two sent to CIM/CalPERS, flipping off the construction workers (and the building once it’s done) and crying myself to sleep every night for two years. I am not saying the City should block the proposal. I am not saying I would sue. I am not saying I would handcuff myself to one of piles and go on a hunger strike. I respect the right of CalPERS to do what it wants. This is CalPERS’ project now. It’s the Head Honcho, the Big Cheese, the Main Man, the Big Enchilada, the Grandito Burrito……………………………………… CalPERS is the Numero Uno; unfortunately, its record shows we may end up with a big, steaming pile of Numero Dos.