New Projects in Old Sacramento

[wburg]

From the Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...acramento.html

Real estate entrepreneur Nissim Lanyadoo is still moving ahead on bringing a family friendly vision to an Old Sacramento, and the scope of his vision is only getting bigger.

In addition to his plans for refurbishing 35,000 square feet of the 1850s-vintage Heywood Building on Second Street, opposite the Wells Fargo Museum, Lanyadoo said he’s in talks to buy other Old Sacramento buildings, and even a few downtown.

“Sacramento is on the rise, and most people don’t know that,” said the excitable, more than occasionally profane Lanyadoo, who has plans for a theme hotel and event space for the Second Street building to open in about a year’s time.

The hotel would be meant to evoke Old Sacramento’s history as a booming place during the Gold Rush, with staff trained to discuss the neighborhood and building’s history with visitors, he said. And in a nod to what the kids are into these days, the main entrance will feature an oversize painting of a Transformer character to draw young eyes inside, Lanyadoo said.

Now nearly empty of tenants and stripped of much of what’s been added since it was original, the Heywood Building would also have a yogurt stand, gift shop and other new tenants. Permitting and site concepts will take about another six months, followed by six months of improvements.

But Lanyadoo said that’s just the start. One of the other buildings he’s hoping to buy would house a concept he calls Chelsea Square, with dining, entertainment and retail, and he’s also hoping to boost residential living within Old Sacramento.

“Everything around here can be used for residential,” he said. “We need more people living down here.”

I guess thinking people want to live downtown makes one "eccentric" according to the Business Journal? Or using cuss words?

[ozone]

Originally Posted by wburg

From the Business Journal:

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacrament...acramento.html



I guess thinking people want to live downtown makes one "eccentric" according to the Business Journal? Or using cuss words?

Great if you like living right next to an ugly, deafening freeway. Or living in a hot, dusty, traffic-choked tourist trap full of over-weight tacky day-trippers and pot-bellied, grey-bearded bikers.

"And in a nod to what the kids are into these days, the main entrance will feature an oversize painting of a Transformer character to draw young eyes inside" Haha keep it classy Old Sac.

[BillSimmons]

Yeah that's great, because when I think "Gold Rush" the first thing that comes to mind is Transformers.

[wburg]

The Transformers thing is a little silly, but I have met Millenials who consider Optimus Prime from the cartoon show a role model.

[BillSimmons]

Originally Posted by wburg

The Transformers thing is a little silly, but I have met Millenials who consider Optimus Prime from the cartoon show a role model.

I could go along with the Transformers theme if it was for something new and exciting like a big Arcade that would draw locals and tourists alike, but other than that I really don't see how that could fit into a Gold Rush theme at all.

Sacramento is lacking in the arcade department and I think Old Sac would be a great place to put one. I think an "adult" arcade that served beer and had lots of games would be a hit in this region. There's one on The Strip in Vegas with that sort of theme that is usually packed, that has games for kids and adults and also has a couple bars with TVs and Pool Tables/Dart Boards/Shuffleboard etc. Currently the closest thing we have to that is Republic, which has some pool tables, a Basketball Shot Machine and SkeeBall.

[wburg]

There was an arcade in Old Sacramento, underneath street level, and I think there were some in the basement-level Round Table and Annabella's pizza place (terrible pizza but it was cheap, so parents would take their kids there to load up on carbs.) There's also the coin-op shooting gallery on 2nd and K Street. Something more like the old arcade would be fun, but it would still need a lot of marketing to draw its revenue entirely from visitors and tourists.

[Eriu]

An arcade would be pretty fun. I really enjoyed the Musee Mechanique last time I was at the SF Wharf.

[wburg]

The Musee Mecanique is a recent addition to Fisherman's Wharf--it moved there from its old location at Cliff House when Cliff House had earthquake rehab a few years back.

[Deno]

Train old Sacramento expansion.

From fox 40

Hundreds of concerned residents and proponents of a new possible addition to the city’s tourism initiative attended a public hearing at the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento Tuesday.

The heated subject was the proposal to create two new round trip rail excursions. They are a part of the State Parks and the Railroad Museum’s vision to utilized unused rails in the area and create two new tourist attractions, up to 40 years from now.

The first line will be from Old Sacramento to the Sacramento Zoo. The second line will be from Meadow View to Hood. The predominantly residential section between the Zoo and Meadowview was taken out of the master plan Tuesday’s meeting.

The Sacramento Zoo has repeatedly expressed their support of the proposal, because of its potential to bring new tourists from around the world, and alleviate area car traffic.

“Everybody loves trains, everybody loves animals, so we just think it’s a great combination,” Sacramento Zoo Director Mary Healy said.

However, many residents who live near the proposed excursion areas stated their disapproval.

“People can actually look into our back yard, so our concern with the trains is that every time they come by, they can see my kids playing back there, and there will be a lot of noise,” neighbor Kris Rogers said.

She and a few dozen families live along the proposed Zoo line, which would be the first to be built, if the proposal is approved.

“I think those who are for it, should have to live with their families with pollution,” South Land Park resident Dan Weitzman said. “I think tourism is one thing but quality of life, property values, pollution is a whole other thing.”

If the plan passes, there will be four round trip excursions on the weekend. The Zoo is already considering plans to combat the possible privacy issue.



Read more: http://fox40.com/2014/04/15/proposed...#ixzz30oSxkD9n