Quote:
Originally Posted by travis bickle
I am told the story will run this Saturday. Keep an eye out for it.
May have to start a separate thread...
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I guess this is it... unless there is some other big announcement coming. (I'm kidding, please don't quote)
By Bob Shallit
Published: Friday, May. 1, 2009 - 11:44 am
Harvard Square in Sacramento? Under a unprecedented proposal that's been been quietly brewing for months, a private developer would build a $300-to-500 million "urban village" of housing, shops, restaurants and offices on the CSUS campus.
The proposal, which envisions construction paid for entirely by the developer, is drawing intense interest from university and city officials.
The proposal was submitted last fall by national developer Clark Realty Capital of Arlington, Va., and has been the topic of high-level, hush-hush discussions since then. Many consider it a make-or-break opportunity for Sac State to transform itself from a commuter school into a vibrant, 24-hour campus.
CSUS President Alexander Gonzalez tells us Clark's proposal could potentially advance the goal of making Sac State a "destination" university. But "we're really just beginning the discussion ... to see what this brings the university." To go forward, the plan would need approval by the CSU board of trustees.
City officials, meanwhile, are downright ecstatic about the project, which could start construction as early as 2012.
Assistant City Manager John Dangberg says it would establish an "exciting Harvard Square-type" urban grid near the campus' southern entrance along Highway 50, while spurring investment to the city's redevelopment area around Folsom Boulevard and 65th Street.
Clark's willingness to shoulder the construction costs and share lease revenues from the university village is a big part of the project's appeal. That's the model Clark has used on military bases, says William Hamilton, the Clark development executive and Roseville native who proposed the Sacramento project. It would, he says, give CSUS officials "the village they've long wanted, at no cost, and they also get a revenue stream."