"What's going on Sacramento" Chit-Chat

[Bubb90]

Not too bad
http://m.bizjournals.com/sacramento/...-of-tower.html

[wburg]

Now if they could just get something on the long-blighted ground floor...the main ground floor commercial space has been vacant for over a decade, and the bank closed down a few months ago. What a civic embarrassment!

[Pistola916]

Originally Posted by wburg

Now if they could just get something on the long-blighted ground floor...the main ground floor commercial space has been vacant for over a decade, and the bank closed down a few months ago. What a civic embarrassment!

I'm somewhat surprised Chase couldn't make it work there. The nearest branch is on 21st, which is really a lengthy walk for those who work and/or live downtown. There isn't even an ATM in the CBD.

[urbanadvocate]

Anybody know the mayoral debate schedule?

[Majin]

Originally Posted by urbanadvocate

Anybody know the mayoral debate schedule?

You missed the one that was yesterday.

[ozone]

Originally Posted by Pistola916

I'm somewhat surprised Chase couldn't make it work there. The nearest branch is on 21st, which is really a lengthy walk for those who work and/or live downtown. There isn't even an ATM in the CBD.

A bank is not like restaurant or shop. I don't think there was really "making it work" involved as much as a decision to save money. But since the majority of downtown workers are government employees, maybe there's just not as many Chase customers as there are, say Golden One and the traditional standbys (BA, Wells)?

Even the Chase at 21st has downsized to two tellers. They've replaced the others with inside ATMs. I think it's just the way banks are going.

[ozone]

The main reason shops restaurants have a hard time on K Street is the light-rail. It's big and loud (ugly) and it brings in poor minorities from North and South Sacramento which, not having much to do or money to spend, just create an off-putting environment for those who do. It may not be PC to say it, but I just did.

[creamcityleo79]

Originally Posted by ozone

The main reason shops restaurants have a hard time on K Street is the light-rail. It's big and loud (ugly) and it brings in poor minorities from North and South Sacramento which, not having much to do or money to spend, just create an off-putting environment for those who do. It may not be PC to say it, but I just did.

That's disgusting! Why bring the word minorities into the picture? I'd rather hang out with a poor minority than a racist of any class any day!

[ozone]

Originally Posted by creamcityleo79

That's disgusting! Why bring the word minorities into the picture? I'd rather hang out with a poor minority than a racist of any class any day!

Well first you need to chill. Whether it's fair and justified is not the issue I'm addressing. I'm stating a reality. Not how I'd like the world to be but how it is. Why bring poor minorities into the picture? Because people's perception of a place affects their decision to visit a place. You can get all bent out of shape again about things you really don't know and sau its not right that people should feel unsafe when they see a bunch of young black kids hanging out at the light-rail stops but so what? As I said many times light rail on K Street has been the biggest hindrance to it's revival and subsequently downtown's. I have talked many times about the many reasons that is. I could not care less what you think or what you would do. You do not see what I see everyday and you do not know me or know my politics.

[yolonative]

Originally Posted by ozone

Well first you need to chill. Whether it's fair and justified is not the issue I'm addressing. I'm stating a reality. Not how I'd like the world to be but how it is. Why bring poor minorities into the picture? Because people's perception of a place affects their decision to visit a place. You can get all bent out of shape again about things you really don't know and sau its not right that people should feel unsafe when they see a bunch of young black kids hanging out at the light-rail stops but so what? As I said many times light rail on K Street has been the biggest hindrance to it's revival and subsequently downtown's. I have talked many times about the many reasons that is. I could not care less what you think or what you would do. You do not see what I see everyday and you do not know me or know my politics.

I think the reason he was disgusted with your mention of minorities, is the fact that light rail brings in poor people in general, some of which are white, not just "minorities". The ghetto may contain less Caucasians, but if you open your eyes you'd realize that anyone is capable of growing up poor and in the ghetto, and in turn causing a ruckus and potential crime on K Street. However, the light rail doesn't account for the hundreds of homeless of all races that sleep on K street, so your main point about lightrail as the source of off-putting people is questionable all together.

[Stellar_Mass]

I think Ozone's blame is misplace and meant to cause an argument. I'm originally from Stockton and also lived in Sacramento for 12 years. I recently visited Sac and thought K street would be a nice place to take my wife, ya know because of the new development and all. The first thing I noticed was the homeless on every corner begging for money. I was once a POOR MINORITY and the last place myself or anyone I knew would want to go is Downtown Sac. The place is dead every other street you enter, it's over populated with homeless, the buildings are small, ugly and vacant for the most part and it's overpriced for what few amenities are offered. I've always felt like nobody has the guts to take a chance with Sac because of it's small-town mentality. Bickering over the height of fences and tree relocation. I guess my point is that when I see the crap that people complain about in Sacramento compared with cities like SF, L.A. and Boston I never see cheap shots being taken with no real resolution hatched behind them. I'm not a city planner, nor am I as knowledgeable as most of you guy have shown on this site, but damn what's the plan or we just killing time here?

[wburg]

Yeah, Ozone's just looking for a fight again with the angry, inflammatory racial remarks. But if that's your impression of downtown Sacramento, you were looking in the wrong places--the blocks around the arena are pretty much the least interesting parts of downtown, all the fun stuff is happening a few blocks farther east or south, and vacant buildings are few and far between. Not sure about what "bickering over the height of fences or tree relocation" means, but every city struggles with these issues--if you think San Franciscans, Angelenos or Bostonians don't fight about projects, or don't have homeless populations that make Sacramento's look miniscule, you don't know those cities well enough.

[Stellar_Mass]

I don't think I said that other cities don't argue and fight over projects, I'm just saying that it seems that people in Sac stress on much smaller issues. Being split or ignorant on developments is the problem in my opinion. To each their own, but living in Boston for 6 years and spending time in much older cities has skewed my view slightly. I know a few places in Sac, but K street could be much much more than what it is at this point.

[Majin]

About the homeless/transients on K street (near the Arena). It's not that there are a lot of homeless (more than any other large city), it's that Downtown has almost no housing, so on the weekends during the day (before ~7-8pm) the area is dominated by homeless. During the night, there are thousands of people out on K street enjoying the nightlife with the same amount of homeless so they just become much less noticeable.

Which is one more (of a long list) of reasons why we need much more permanent housing in Downtown proper. Midtown does not really have this problem as there are people out pretty much all day even on the weekends.

[enigma99a]

Originally Posted by Majin

About the homeless/transients on K street (near the Arena). It's not that there are a lot of homeless (more than any other large city), it's that Downtown has almost no housing, so on the weekends during the day (before ~7-8pm) the area is dominated by homeless. During the night, there are thousands of people out on K street enjoying the nightlife with the same amount of homeless so they just become much less noticeable.

Which is one more (of a long list) of reasons why we need much more permanent housing in Downtown proper. Midtown does not really have this problem as there are people out pretty much all day even on the weekends.

Thank you for saying that. I was going to type the same thing

[Stellar_Mass]

Very true. Do you think it will turn around with the arena spurring new housing or do you think it will continue into the next decade? Just want the input because I really want to move back to the valley, but it seems like developers are still afraid of Sac, mainly housing downtown.

[Pistola916]

Originally Posted by Stellar_Mass

Very true. Do you think it will turn around with the arena spurring new housing or do you think it will continue into the next decade? Just want the input because I really want to move back to the valley, but it seems like developers are still afraid of Sac, mainly housing downtown.

We're starting to see it turn around right now albeit slowly. There are a few mixed-use projects, housing above retail, in the works on K Street. The 700 Block is under construction and that will have over 100 units. There are plans to add the same number of units on the 800 block. The 250 room Kimpton hotel, also under construction, has 50 units atop the hotel component. And work is expected to break ground on the Capitol Towers superblock sometime this year, which would break over 1,000 units. There's a ton of infill going on in the central city grid.

Just don't expect to see an influx of residential towers. That hasn't caught on yet.

[wburg]

I don't think the arena is going to spur much housing, it seems like the products resulting from the arena are offices and parking structures, with a token 50 units of housing on top of the hotel (downgraded from the first drafts.) Developers are buying up cheaper land farther out in Midtown, the already established neighborhood, and hoping to get land zoned for low/midrise rezoned for high-rises instead of building high-rise residential downtown. If they can do that, not much incentive for downtown high-rises where the risk is higher.

The 700 block housing is a redevelopment project, entitled back in 2010 before the arena deal but stalled due to the end of California redevelopment, long before the arena was approved. There is other housing on the way nearby--the former Pyramid Brewery building, whose upper floors were originally apartments converted to offices, are being converted back to apartments.

In Midtown and elsewhere in downtown, we have had several thousand new housing units built in the past five years or so, ranging from little alley infill units and small-lot row houses to midrise apartment buildings and adaptive reuse of industrial buildings into housing. My guess is we have maybe 5000 or so more people living in the "grid" than there were in 2010, the highest population has been since the early 1960s. And there is room for plenty more on the vacant lots and parking lots and buildings sitting vacant due to high-rise speculation that could be converted back into housing and other uses.

[wburg]

Great guest article by Ali Youseffi of CFY Development in today's Bee:

Smart urban living can be the future of Sacramento

[Majin]

Great article? It was just a puff piece with little substance.