Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[sugit]

Originally Posted by innov8

Jamie Broker is a Junior Planner with the Zoning Administrator for the City of
Sacramento... so calling him would do no good.

That lot will be prime for development when the next wave of proposals comes around again. That place has been broken into numerous times and I'm sure is a big liability, so it might be in the owners best interest to remove it instead of watching it go to crap since it has no historical reference... I won't miss it

If someone really feels the need to make a call...knock yourself out.

Jim Woodrum - 455 Capitol Mall Complex
Applicant - Phone 916-455-5475

[econgrad]

Originally Posted by Fusey

Same here. A parking lot would look better than that building, anyways.

Yeah the building is not very desirable, but if you were an urbanist invested in Downtown you can worry about the space being a parking lot for 10 or 20 years... I think some would rather have a building,to be demolished later for something better, we can combine highrises with multiple levels of parking instead of an open ground parking to keep up with the car parking demand.

[Cynikal]

Originally Posted by innov8

Jamie Broker is a Junior Planner with the Zoning Administrator for the City of
Sacramento... so calling him would do no good.

That lot will be prime for development when the next wave of proposals comes
around again. That place has been broken into numerous times and I'm sure is
a big liability, so it might be in the owners best interest to remove it instead of
watching it go to crap since it has no historical reference... I won't miss it

Actually guys, Jamie is a her and not a him and not a junior planner but an assistant planner. But I'm sure that people aren't judging a person by thier title. Not a bunch of folks that sit a computer and complain about the lack of development and don't do anything about it themselves (with the excetion of a very small amount of you). But I digress.

As innov8 stated above, there is a history to this lot and it invloved a building that has been vacant for over 5 years and had major flooding issues.

I'm no fan of surface parking lots in the CBD but currently, according to the owner, it is the highest best use of the land.

[tronblue]

Now I know nothing about this building except that it looks like that concrete bench in the front is prime for axel grinds, but is demoing for a heat ridden parking lot the best option?

If the building does have bad flooding problems than fine, but what about alternative uses. a Co-op artists' studio building comes to mind something sponsored by the art council since many people think this is such an artsy town, why not offer low cost work space with proceeds going to the art council for scholarships and the such. I don't know, but it just seems like a copout to me.

I'm not saying I think the building should stay, as certainly something better will eventually come, but many of these 60's god awful looking buildings were supposed to represent the new Sacramento and you can kind of compare that thinking with how many people feel about today's redevelopment. Its great looking today for us, but tomorrow's city dwellers will turn them into parking lots. Can you imagine in 2052 when the Park on 15th and L will be considered blighted poor design of the early millennium and will be demoed and replaced with a 100 floor self contained community building made out of cow poop, Star Wars grade perma crate and bees wax. I mean right now its awfully pretentious as is.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by innov8

Why aren’t you raising hell tring to save this has-been of a building?
Why doesn’t it meet your criteria for preservation wberg?

The first criterion is that a building has to be at least 50 years old, or be of exceptional historical significance, in order to require assessment. The building isn't 50 years old, nor does it have exceptional historic significance.

So, that's why.

[sugit]

I've said this before, but I'm still very interested to see how leasing goes in the new DT office buildings.

So far it seems like it's just been a shuffling of tenants from one building to another, doesn't seem like much in terms of organic growth to the downtown office market space.

The last firm I remember reading about making a move from the burbs to downtown was Bullivant Houser Bailey a couple years ago to Meridian I and taking about 25K in space. I'm sure there have been others, but it just doesn't seem like many.

One building that never really seems to be mentioned is 12-story one out on South Natomas. That thing is the same size as 621. Seems like a lot of soon-to-be vacant Class A office space out there.

Tsakopoulos office building goes on hold as vacancies rise
Sacramento Business Journal - by Michael Shaw Staff writer

In a downtown Sacramento market with new office buildings under construction and little demand from tenants for space, AKT Investments Inc. has temporarily suspended its application to build a 24-story tower on K and 15th streets and will consider modifying the project.

“We have to make sure it’s the project we want that makes financial sense,” said Mark Enes, AKT Investments executive vice president. “We do that for all our projects.”

City officials confirmed that the application filed in October is on hold. AKT, founded by real estate mogul Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and run by his daughter Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, had pitched the Meridian Plaza II as a companion to the existing 12-story Meridian Tower, though twice as tall at 24 stories with an energy- and water-saving design. The building’s exterior features a curved glass façade, a spire and a wall of plants seven stories high. Enes said it was unlikely that the company would change the intended use from an office building to something else.

Sacramento developer Tony Giannoni is the project manager. AKT will continue to consult with him on its next move.

In the meantime, AKT will put in a parking lot at the building site to serve the existing Meridian building and an office building at 1414 K St. that the company has refurbished and is marketing to tenants.

Office vacancy has been on the rise for the past year, up by as much as 2 percentage points, according to several brokerages, reflecting a downturn in the housing market and the economy in general. There have been fewer company expansions and little growth with firms relocating to Sacramento.

Couple that with the addition of new buildings downtown, and it could be an unfavorable time for another office building.

Tsakopoulos Investments, a company run by Tsakopoulos’ brother George, is building the 430,000-square-foot Bank of the West Tower at 500 Capitol Mall that’s scheduled to open next year. Office brokers say the new Meridian building would serve lobbyists and associations seeking easier access to the Capitol — a different market than the real estate firms, attorneys and accounting firms drawn to Capitol Mall buildings. But the sheer amount of office vacancy is bound to have an effect.

In April, the U.S. Bank Tower opened on Capitol Mall, drawing tenants away from existing buildings in the market. The 356,000-square-foot building is about two-thirds leased.

Next year, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System will move into a new 400,000-square-foot building in West Sacramento, leaving vacancies on the Sacramento side of the river. The pension fund leases space from AKT Investments near California State University Sacramento that will be vacated upon the move.

All of that might play into the decision of how to proceed.

As Enes said, “In the hot markets, you just went with it.”

[Tenebrist]

I like my parking structures to look like this: Is That Really A Car Park [from thecoolhunter.net]

[ltsmotorsport]

Can't say I'm surprised about the news on Meridian II. Will be interesting to see what they come back with. Smaller floor plates? Mixed use? It would even be a good location for another hotel.

[sugit]

Originally Posted by ltsmotorsport

Can't say I'm surprised about the news on Meridian II. Will be interesting to see what they come back with. Smaller floor plates? Mixed use? It would even be a good location for another hotel.

Mixed use would be nice, hotel or housing....but they said:

Enes said it was unlikely that the company would change the intended use from an office building to something else.

We'll see...

[TowerDistrict]

Originally Posted by innov8

Also, TowerDistrict, I noticed today that a house at the corner of Burnett and Freeport
was getting demolished... what's the plan for that corner?

Hard to miss that mess isn't it?!!! The house was a rental for a long time and was in horrible shape. It apparently went into foreclosure and was bank owned for a while. In which time it became a popular spot for high school kids and homeless people to niche and get loaded. The place was in very, very bad shape before and may have been pretty well stripped by the people camping out in it.

But anyway, some sort of investor bought it and is pretty much tearing it down to a single wall and rebuilding it (as a house). I can't imagine this is profitable right now, but good luck to them. I know the neighborhood is pretty stoked it's getting some positive attention.

[snfenoc]

http://www.sacbee.com/shallit/story/1167302.html

Bob Shallit: They'll tear down an ex-bank to put up a parking lot
By Bob Shallit - [email protected]
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A long-vacant bank building at a prime downtown intersection is about to be razed. In its place: A parking lot.

A Palo Alto company that owns the parcel across from Downtown Plaza has obtained city permission to demolish the former Sacramento Savings Bank, which has been sitting vacant for about 15 years.

If approvals are given this week by the city's design director, the three-story bank building will be bulldozed and the site repaved and landscaped. It'll be used for parking – only by tenants and guests of the 455 Capitol Mall office building.

Both 455 and the bank building at 424 L St. are owned by related corporate entities based in Palo Alto, according to property records.

Company officials – and the building managers at 455 Capitol Mall – declined to comment on the parking lot plans.

But city documents provide a few details, including the fact the project won't create much new parking.

The existing 82 spaces will be removed during demolition. The completed lot will have 98 spaces – along with outdoor seating, fountains, landscaping and walkways.

The city report also indicates the parking lot is temporary. Long-term plans, the report says, call for the site to eventually be developed.

[Majin]

I rather have an empty building than a parking lot.

[Darn Good City]

Originally Posted by Cynikal

I'm really surprised that no one here has mentioned the Oak Park Fresh and Easy debate. Or is everyone here so grid focused that Oak Park doesn't matter?

http://oakparknow.blogspot.com/

Is this what you are referring to?

[Cynikal]

Originally Posted by Darn Good City

http://oakparknow.blogspot.com/

Is this what you are referring to?

Yup. The project was approved at the Design Director level but should be appealed to the Design Commission. The neighborhood group did a great job at putting together an alternative.

[SactownTom]

The neighborhood alternative is a much better fit for that lot. I'm really blown away that they would try to put a parking lot fronting Broadway, and that the Design Director would approve it. This is an important project for Oak Park. The city needs to get it right.

[Cynikal]

I'm fairly sure that the City wants this heard at the Commission level but who knows. The community plan is far superior but F&E is really bullheaded about the issue. We'll see what happens.

[Darn Good City]

The most amazing thing is that the neighborhood plan isn't what was proposed in the first place for an urban infil project like this. The neighborhood plan doesn't even change the footprint of the Fresh and Easy or reduce their parking below required levels. It just moves the building forward to the sidewalk and moves the parking off of Broadway, and looks better too.

[tronblue]

I do not live in that area, but I think i'll add my body to that meeting in september. Plus i'd like to hear stupidity frothing from the mouths of the fne peoples.

[urban_encounter]

Originally Posted by tronblue

Plus i'd like to hear stupidity frothing from the mouths of the fne peoples.

Have you given skyscraperpage current events or the U.S. election forum a browse?

[tronblue]

No but I do go to foxnews.com for a good laugh and cry of pity.