Sacramento Proposal/Approval/Construction Thread - III

[foxmtbr]

Wow, awesome news! Good find Brian!

[Cynikal]

That is good news. Roseville and South Placer have been really trying to get a university there for a while.


Unrelated question- Anyone know why there is a huge banner for the Saca towers hanging over the location of the proposed Metropoliton? Kinda through me for a loop this morning.

[TowerDistrict]

Hmmm... sounds like the Drexel University is another vain attempt to rezone some ag land and chuck in some at sprawling development. The university is 600 acres(!) with a separate 536 acres for housing and retail?? That's 1,136 acres total for 2,300 units of housing and a university. You could fit nearly 5 railyards projects inside the combined developement areas... ouch. That's a pretty far cry from their Philadephia campus, which is located in the central city areas.

Sorry to be the downer, but I'd love to see something a bit more... umm... efficient?

[Fusey]

And I thought Sac State was too sprawled out with over 20,000 students and 300 acres. Seems like overkill to me.

[rezlab]

Frustrated by the loss of momentum in downtown Sacramento? Here is a great idea proposed by City Councilman Steve Cohn - recently published in the "Inside Sacramento" Publication that would act as a catalyst for the city core:
http://www.insidepublications.com/pdf_stories/07-08

If you think this is a good idea - let Steve know. Contact info is provided at the end of the article.
=========================================================

Sacramento’s Capitol Mall needs an extreme makeover. Not the Hollywood variety, but a serious, concerted effort to make Capitol Mall Sacramento’s signature street.

Imagine if, instead of six lanes of roadway and a barren grass median strip, we put the roadway where the median strip is now and widened the sidewalks on either side to fill in where the current roadways are. Then we’d plant a second row of shade trees, put the new streetcar line connecting downtown with West Sac in the middle, and line the sidewalk with cafes similar to the outdoor café at Il Fornaio in front of the Wells Fargo Building. Voila! We’d have the most beautiful and vibrant sidewalk cafe district this side of Paris—and an instant venue for arts and major special events.


With the Crocker Art Museum and Old Sac close by and several attractive new office and condo towers lining the street, the resources are in place to make this dream a reality.

Most of the city’s efforts at downtown redevelopment have centered around K Street, long considered Sacramento’s “Main Street,” a label I have never understood, since J Street/Fair Oaks Boulevard and Capitol Avenue/Folsom Boulevard are, in fact, the two main east-west arteries in Sacramento. Unfortunately, despite millions invested to date, K Street between Seventh and Ninth is still plagued by divided ownership, lack of investment and vagrancy problems.

The pedestrian/transit mall concept has yet to flourish on K Street, though efforts are still under way to stimulate the street with new retail, housing and performing arts venues.

Meanwhile, just two blocks away sits Sacramento’s most prestigious address, Capitol Mall. Unlike K Street, this one-mile corridor between two fabulous bookends—the State Capitol and Tower Bridge—is a very wide street with unlimited possibilities. But in its present sterile state, it is a gross underachiever.

For many years, the state of California completely controlled the mall as a state highway, with six travel lanes and a large, barren median strip, ostensibly to preserve views of the Capitol. Until recently, this wide street was adorned with nondescript state and private office buildings. Despite its views and location, it was one of the last places on Earth you’d think of taking a leisurely promenade.

Several years ago, the city acquired the mall from the state, allowing the city to make significant changes to the street as long as we preserve the Capitol view. Because of its proximity to the Capitol, its unparalleled breadth and views of both the Capitol and Tower Bridge, it has been attracting a lot of private investment, starting with the Emerald Building and Wells Fargo Tower about 20 years ago, and more recently the ongoing construction of two new Class A office towers and plans for several signature condo towers, including Aura Tower, designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Liebeskind. Although John Saca’s two-tower concept has gone awry, CalPERS is bringing in a seasoned developer, CIM, to do a landmark building at the west end.


The time is now right for the city to partner with the property owners along the Mall to develop a new vision, along the lines of the ChampsÉlysées in Paris, the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, the Ramblas in Barcelona, the Paseo del Prado in Madrid or my personal favorite, the Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence, which has the added feature of cool bubbling fountains throughout the boulevard. Sacramento currently lacks a grand avenue with sidewalk cafes and shops where pedestrians outnumber motorists.

Sacramento is no longer a small town or a collection of suburbs. We need to start thinking longer term about the kind of amenities that will make Sacramento a great city for decades and centuries to come. A great city must have a great center.

But Sacramento currently lacks a grand avenue with sidewalk cafes and shops where pedestrians outnumber motorists. Not a narrow K Street pedestrian mall, but a grand, tree-lined boulevard used by streetcars, buses, pedestrians, cyclists and, yes, even cars, but with sidewalks wide enough to accommodate thousands of pedestrians. Capitol Mall once hosted the mother of all parties to celebrate the Allied Victory in World War II.


It is time to regain that magic on the mall once more. This renovated Capitol Mall would fit well with other major redevelopment projects downtown, such as the railyards, with plans for beautifully restored historic buildings serving as markets and museums, thousands of new residents, hundreds of new shops and restaurants and a new performing arts center alongside a lively waterfront. Nearby, both sides of the Sacramento waterfront are being designed for mixed uses and open space, while the Richards Boulevard area, now known as the River District, will also be converted to a lively new mixed-use district of residences, offices and retail.

Adding to the Central City’s parks and open space is also critical. The south bank of the American River in the Central City has retained its natural beauty, but it has been blocked by industrial sites and landfills. The city plans to reopen access to uncover a whole new section of the American River Parkway, which will also be home to an expanded zoo and freshwater aquarium, and other attractions.

These are just a few of the things Sacramento has in store in the 21st century as we live up to our vision of being America’s most livable city.

Let me know what you think. I can be reached at 808-7003 or scohn@ cityofsacramento.org.

[Cynikal]

And the campaigning starts

[goldcntry]

Now Cynikal... quit being... oh.. wait. That's your name...

[Cynikal]

I know, I know. But after reading some of the posts here I pass my avatar on those clearly more worthy.

[travis bickle]

Out-freaking-standing! Sacramento's Champs Elysée. I've long thought the same for CM. Wide center medians are one of the typical planner's great mistakes. They look great on paper with colored pens, but they live like crap. They become absolute dead zones, yet planners still love'em. maybe that is changing.

I'll be calling in the morning to see if a Southern California expatriate can help.

[creamcityleo79]

Way cool news from Folsom:

Folsom builds on the past
A plan to develop the city's historic railroad block with housing, shops wins approval.
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer

Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, August 6, 2007
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B2


Builder Jeremy Bernau, right, tours a Folsom work site with inspector Larry
Curtis, center.

Sacramento Bee/Randall Benton



Folsom has spent the past 20 years focusing mainly on its future. Thousands of new homes, jobs and stores have transformed this Old West town into one of the region's major suburbs.

Now, the city is returning to its 19th century roots. After six years of starts and stops, the Folsom Historic District Commission in June approved a design for the redevelopment of the city's historic railroad block into housing, shops and restaurants.

If construction starts next year as planned, the project could be one of the region's most significant developments of entertainment, dining, shopping and housing next to a light-rail line. The last station on the route from Sacramento to Folsom sits just across the street.

Today's trains traverse the same path as those that once ferried passengers to the railroad block, which was the terminus of the 22-mile Sacramento Valley Railroad. Opened in 1856, this line was the first railroad west of the Mississippi.

Bounded by Sutter, Wool, Leidesdorff and Reading streets, the railroad block is now used for surface parking and various city events. Its centerpiece is a train turntable refurbished by the city in 1999. The city is building a $14 million parking garage on one end of the property.

Once construction on the garage is finished, developer Jeremy Bernau and his partners plan to begin construction on four new buildings, whose architecture will echo nearby structures from the 1800s in Folsom's historic district, as well as the architecture of buildings along rail lines in that era. The buildings will flank the historic turntable and a new public plaza to be paid for by the city.

Folsom has budgeted about $6.3 million to build the plaza, refurbish the train depot and enhance an interpretive area.

The development group has renamed the railroad block, calling it Historic Folsom Station. Bernau said he expects to break ground by summer 2008.

The four-building complex will include a restaurant that will curve around the turntable.

The development will total 60 new residential units with 46,000 square feet of stores, restaurants and offices. The buildings were designed by architectural firm Ankrom Moisan of Portland, Ore.

City leaders said they hope the project will attract visitors from around the region to Folsom's historic heart, which also includes the shops and restaurants of nearby Sutter Street.

Kerry Miller, Folsom city manager, calls the city's downtown "a jewel ready to be finely cut." The railroad block will be a "major jump-start" to the city's ongoing effort to spiff up the worn historic district, Miller said.

Bernau said the city is re-creating the atmosphere of historic downtown, where people could walk and get around on the train.

"All we're really doing with this development is giving a rebirth to California's first transit-oriented development," Bernau said. "When the town was first laid out, it was transit-oriented. The automobile wasn't even considered, so it had to be compact."

The only significant city approval remaining is for the design of the plaza -- a centerpiece for concerts and other events. The plaza and parking garage will remain in city ownership.

Bernau and his partners still have to find financing for their part of the project, which will occupy about 1.5 acres. But the longtime custom homebuilder doesn't think that will be a major hurdle, given the relatively modest budget of $20 million.

Folsom has taken years to get here. The city's redevelopment agency bought the 5-acre railroad block in 1990. In 2001, the city announced it had picked a Sacramento-based development team including Sotiris Kolokotronis to develop the railroad block. Kolokotronis is one of the most prolific developers of "infill" housing in midtown Sacramento.

But the group's initial plan for 254 residential units and hotel rooms was rejected by the city as too dense for the railyard block. The city, with citizen input, came up with a new master plan.

The city decided to build the public garage and plaza itself to lessen the developer's financial burden, and to remove the need for a large government subsidy.

Negotiations over the details of the new project crept along, Bernau said. He decided to get involved and assumed a majority stake in the venture in the fall 2006. Kolokotronis and developer Ryan Fong remain minority partners.

"Prior to Jerry being in charge, it looked like the project was imploding," said Patrick Maxfield, president of the Heritage Preservation League in Folsom. "But when Jerry got involved, things turned around."

Bernau, grandson of a Folsom prison guard, moved to the Folsom area in 1988. He has spent years as a custom home builder, and his Kensington Homes in 2001 built Sunset Magazine's Idea House in El Dorado Hills.

For urban projects, Bernau traveled to Denver, San Diego, Portland, Ore., and Seattle for ideas. He also visited historic foothill Gold Rush towns.

He said he built credibility with the city by first completing Sutter Court, a building on Sutter Street across from the railroad block. The building opened Jan. 1 and has eight two-story apartments upstairs and a bank, engineering office and toy store on the ground floor.

Bricks cut in half were attached to the building to create a 19th century look. Double-hung windows and doors made of Douglas fir add to the historical feel.

Jobekah Trotta, a longtime resident of the historic district, said she was impressed by Bernau's attention to detail.

"The quality that he's putting into this is incredible," Trotta said. "He's considering every subtle nuance."

[econgrad]

emand for McClellan sites spurs new development plans
Former air base may add retail, high-density housing to office, industrial
Sacramento Business Journal - August 3, 2007
by Michael Shaw
Staff writer
Dennis McCoy | Sacramento Business Journal
McClellan Business Park LLC president Larry Kelley: "We're pretty much on target with our initial predictions."
View Larger

McClellan Business Park's most accessible buildings are being leased and sold at such a brisk pace that its owners have started to plan the former air base's next phase -- construction of office, industrial and retail space and housing.

They want to open the former fence line along Watt Avenue to shoppers by adding big-box stores and strip developments, tearing down former military homes in favor of high-density condos or apartments, and ripping up an unused taxiway to make way for industrial users.

The owners have picked sites for new development, but it might be years before construction starts.

The immediate goal is to keep marketing vacant buildings, which total about 3 million square feet. Users have snatched up space at a fast clip this year, with about 1.2 million square feet in existing buildings sold or leased in 45 transactions. That includes the sale of 231,000 square feet to the Sacramento Regional Transit District for maintenance of its bus fleet and a 115,000-square-foot lease to a builder of high-end modular homes.

The activity brings the amount of former military property that has been converted into private use to more than 5 million square feet since investors bought the park in 2001.

"That's a good snapshot of what we've been doing all along," McClellan Business Park LLC president Larry Kelley said. "We're pretty much on target with our initial predictions."

McClellan doesn't look like some former military bases where metal-clad roofs are rusting and grounds are deserted. Tenants have brought in 13,000 employees, almost the number of military personnel and civilian employees during its peak as an air base, Kelley said.

Ron Blakeslee, vice president of leasing and marketing at McClellan, said there are discussions with a large retail user for an unused portion of the base on the southern end, a site that had been considered by Bass Pro Shops before that store decided to locate in the downtown railyard.

Other future plans include:

* Construction of another 4 million to 5 million square feet of commercial space, most of it light industrial, at various points of vacant land around the park
* Another 800 to 1,000 units of housing to replace 150 existing homes that are currently being leased. Blakeslee said Sacramento County wants high-density housing options.

According to an industrial market report by Grubb & Ellis, available space in the Sacramento region's market dropped in the second quarter, largely because of the leases signed at McClellan.

Other areas posted higher vacancy rates.

But the park's most generic -- and therefore accessible -- space might already be leased, making it harder to find a perfect fit for users shopping the market, said Kevin Jasper, a broker with Cornish & Carey Commercial in Sacramento. Jasper represented JC Penney, which leased 130,000 square feet at the park last year because the space was "just right" for the company.

"I think McClellan is chewing through that available generic space," he said. "Most brokers want to put McClellan on the list because you might find that perfect fit. On the other hand, you might not."

Jasper said that might be why McClellan's owners are looking at building new space that could accommodate a wider variety of tenants.

Bill Niethammer, an industrial broker at Colliers International, said the size of McClellan's 80,000-square-foot warehouse bays is unusual and some are fortified much better than any new construction. There are very few users who are in the market for that much space, he said.

The park has strategic advantages, such as two rail lines -- Burlington Northern and Union Pacific -- to attract more industrial users, Blakeslee said.

It also has liabilities, such as awkward office footprints.

"Office has been our toughest mission," he said, noting that many of the offices are designed for 20,000 square feet and can't easily be subdivided for the 5,000-square-foot user. Building Class A office space might attract tenants reluctant to use the former military offices there.

In 2001, McClellan Business Park LLC -- consisting of Kelley, Stuart Lichter and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund -- bought the almost 3,000- acre base at a fire-sale price of $85 million, getting 8.5 million square feet of existing buildings in the transaction. Since then, the park has leased or sold more than half of the buildings.

There are also big deals in the works.

"We're going to try to capture a sizable state deal," Blakeslee said, noting an unused portion of the base that has easy access to Interstate 80.

mshaw@bizjournals.com | 916-558-7861

[innov8]

Editorial
State goes private
Sacramento Business Journal - August 10, 2007

The issue: The state is seeking bids from private developers to build the West End project

Our position: It's a novel approach to lessen the pain of fast-rising construction costs
The state of California's one-time ambitious plan for a 1.4 million-square-foot office complex in downtown Sacramento was first delayed by fast-rising construction costs last year.

Now, the financially strapped state, already several weeks late for the approval of its annual budget, is looking for a commercial developer to take over the West End complex.

The chosen developer would finance the half-a-billion-dollar project or find another site within three miles of the Capitol for some state offices and thousands of workers.

It's an about-face for the state, from being a developer-owner of the massive project to becoming the major -- and possibly the only -- tenant of the proposed complex.

An almost 60 percent increase in construction costs, from about $390 million to $620 million-plus, makes a private developer a necessity, state officials say. A developer could build on the 2 1/2 blocks south and west of the Capitol -- or find property within three miles of the rotunda.

The state's decision to step back from developing the complex disappoints and causes some uncertainty. But the state is merely being fiscally conservative, a much-appreciated practice given its financial woes.

Some experts say without state funding the long-awaited complex will join a long list of once-promised-but-failed downtown projects, most recently the 53-story The Towers on Capitol Mall.

Not necessarily.

A developer could actually expedite the effort and gain funding for the project, especially with long-term leases from the state. Also, a privately financed complex would not become a political football at the mercy of lawmakers.

In addition, a big-time developer with deep pockets -- only a handful of locals would qualify for such a large project -- could build the office campus and give a much-needed push to downtown's renaissance.

Quite simply, a private development would generate millions of dollars in property tax rather than a publicly owned office complex that never makes it to the tax rolls.

Either way, the complex would house thousands of state employees who would continue to dine at local restaurants and shop at nearby stores.

Certainly, a state-funded office campus is a head-turning idea, but the idea of state officials looking to a commercial developer to take over the West End complex should not be automatically placed in the "dead downtown projects" file. Sure, it will take creativity -- and time -- but a privately financed and owned office complex could yield a much greater long-term benefit to the public than a state-owned project.

http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sa...ditorial1.html

[TowerDistrict]

Just a thought, but maybe it would be a good idea for a prospective developer and the state to look at being the first major tenants in Township 9? It would jump start a large development like that, and the state could avoid the preservation and neighborhood issues of the other site. All of Township 9 is planned mixed use, so they couldn't create another blackhole either.

[arod74]

I wonder if Calpers/CIM is talking behind the scenes about this opportunity to propose a huge project on the former towers site. With the square footage the the state is looking for the west end project, it sure would lend itself to an iconic building(s).

[wburg]

The state is more interested in continuing their re-consolidation of state offices into the downtown core along Capitol Mall than someplace like Township 9. Besides, the state likes to own their buildings.

The plan for Capitol Mall, with tracks down the middle, and walkable mixed-use functions with lots of pedestrians, restaurants and other functions sounds...well, it sounds exactly like M Street used to be before the forces of redevelopment tore it down in the fifties.

And yeah, that university in Roseville is just the latest in a series of bribes that will allow Angelo T. to build more stucco tract home crap.

I saw some of the new stuff going up in Folsom when I went there (on light rail) last month. There are already some new buildings with some demo/site prep going on. I like the plans for an expanded/refurbed Folsom train station and interpretive center--how great is it to live in a place with a light-rail system with a railroad museum on either end? (Okay, not everyone is as train-happy as me, but personally I think it's swell.)

And I may be cynical, but I'm also an optimist.

[creamcityleo79]

Originally Posted by wburg

The state is more interested in continuing their re-consolidation of state offices into the downtown core along Capitol Mall than someplace like Township 9. Besides, the state likes to own their buildings.

The plan for Capitol Mall, with tracks down the middle, and walkable mixed-use functions with lots of pedestrians, restaurants and other functions sounds...well, it sounds exactly like M Street used to be before the forces of redevelopment tore it down in the fifties.

And yeah, that university in Roseville is just the latest in a series of bribes that will allow Angelo T. to build more stucco tract home crap.

I saw some of the new stuff going up in Folsom when I went there (on light rail) last month. There are already some new buildings with some demo/site prep going on. I like the plans for an expanded/refurbed Folsom train station and interpretive center--how great is it to live in a place with a light-rail system with a railroad museum on either end? (Okay, not everyone is as train-happy as me, but personally I think it's swell.)

And I may be cynical, but I'm also an optimist.

That stucco tract home crap at 500 Capitol Mall? Tsakopolous is a developer and he builds tract homes. But, he also has some pretty good plans for more urban developments. Don't discount that, too.

[snfenoc]

I'm bored. So here are a few updates on some of the other projects (i.e., not 621 CM or 500 CM) in the area:

CalSTRS from last Sunday:


The Orleans in Old Town from last Sunday:


That Mercy Building (about 30th and Q?) from last Sunday:


A couple of angles for the Cooper Union building (16th and H) from yesterday



A couple of low light angles of the L Street Lofts from yesterday:


The above pic does not do the area justice. I had to wad through masses of people. Sacramento is hip???

The Cathedral building is basically done

Ella just needs to move in and get rid of those tacky plywood "doors"

[aufbau]

^well done.

Interesting contrast in street activity between L&18th street and K&11(?). Although it was second saturday and different times of the day, it still is pretty amazing.

L street gets more and more thronged every second saturday, making it actually easier to walk than drive(!) down that street for several blocks. I hope this continues to spread.

[ltsmotorsport]

Updates! I love updates!

[TWAK]

how much bigger is the calstrs gonna be?