Damn, back in 2004 100 units were proposed atop the Firestone but it did not work out.
Plans on tap to make Firestone building a dining destination
Design proposal to eliminate old sign must pass preservation commission
By Mark Anderson of The Sacramento Business Journal
July 20, 2007
Dennis McCoy | Sacramento Business Journal
Built in 1929, the historic Firestone building, at 16th and L streets in downtown Sacramento, is being considered for redevelopment.
View Larger The Firestone Building near Capitol Park in Sacramento could emerge as an entertainment center with four new businesses -- two national restaurants, an Irish bar and a nightclub.
The building at 1531 L St. was built in 1929 as a Firestone tire store. It closed three years ago, and a series of redevelopment plans have come and gone since then. The two-story art deco building takes up a quarter block at 16th and L streets, next to the Residence Inn that opened this month.
Design changes call for enclosing what was once a parking area for the store under a massive triangular roof facing the corner. Sacramento's City Preservation Commission will consider the plan Aug. 1.
The project includes a California Pizza Kitchen and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, said Jill Scofield, spokeswoman with the city's development department.
The building is being developed by a joint venture, 1531 L Street Developers LLC, made up of Ken Fahn, owner of Metro Properties, and Mark Cordano, a partner in The Cordano Co., along with the Wurster family, longtime owners of the building. Vrilakas Architects of Sacramento will handle the design. No one involved with the project would discuss details because they don't want any publicity before they get approvals, Fahn said.
The old Firestone sign would not be preserved in the current proposal, Scofield said. The project needs no entitlements or changes in zoning, so the Preservation Commission will be the only public hearing the building needs, she said.
"Every time a restaurant opens downtown, downtown becomes even more of a destination than it was before," said Mark Friedman, downtown developer and president of Fulcrum Capital Corp. He was part of the team to develop the building at 16th and J streets that now houses P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar. "The whole area has become a destination," he said.
Five years ago, Lucca Restaurant & Bar was one of the pioneers in the downtown revitalization, and its success motivated others to follow. A dozen restaurants have opened within three blocks, with more on the way.
"We haven't fallen off at all in any of our business," said Ron Gilliland, owner of Lucca. But he said it might be time for developers to use caution: "You can't just have restaurants in every building. There's got to be some boutiques or stores -- or something else."
It will be interesting to watch the Firestone building develop, he said, adding that chain restaurants tend to do well in the Sacramento suburbs while local operators thrive downtown.
California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (Nasdaq: CPKI) of Los Angeles has 213 restaurants. Fleming's was started in Newport Beach in 1998 and has grown to 50 locations. Now based in Tampa, Fla., the company has won many awards, including 37 from Wine Spectator magazine in 2006.
In the summer of 2004, when the housing market was still hot, Opus West Corp. proposed developing a 100-condominium residential project atop the historic Firestone structure. That plan never panned out.
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