Development and developers

Work on R Street begins again

2010-09-27T23:21:41Z

Work began late last week on the long-delayed street scape of R Street between 11th and 13th Streets. The surface is already torn up, and work progressing.

To get an idea of what R Street is going to look like when the work is done, see this Sacramento Press story.

Andy Ekstrom mourned across Sacramento

2010-08-05T02:24:22Z

Andy Ekstrom's Facebook profile includes his favorite quote:

"If everyone likes you, you aren't doing your job. However, if no one likes you, you can't do your job."

Sounds good, even wise. But in fact, nearly everyone seemed to like Andy. So as the news of his death at the age of 35 circulated Tuesday afternoon and evening, the outpouring of emotion through Facebook, texts and Twitters soon became a flood.

Ekstrom, who worked as a project manager for Heller Pacific, was instrumental in launching and filling developer Mike Heller, Jr.'s game-changing MARRS building on 20th Street between J and K, and his two-building Retro Lodge complex downtown at 11th and H. Ekstrom was a constant presence at both places, where his ready smile and eagerness to lend a hand defined him for hundreds of his fellow Sacramentans.

"Andy was the guy on the ground," said J-E Paino, project director for the Rubicon Partnership, rival developers. "He got the tenants, he made stuff happen. He poured his heart into the MARRS building."

Andy Ekstrom grew up in Sacramento's northeastern suburbs and went to Jesuit High School. He then left to do his undergrad work at UCLA, and returned to get his MBA at UC Davis. When he was done, he started working for Heller Pacific, managing properties that include the MARRS building and the Retro Lodge.

"We're trying to improve the Midtown Sacramento environment," Ekstrom wrote in his biography on Facebook. "It's starting to become a pretty cool place after all."

Liz Harris worked with Andy at Heller Pacific. In an e-mail to Sacramento Press, she emphasized his skill at connecting others.

"He had the ability to light up a room," she wrote. "His presence made any occasion more enjoyable. Perhaps what I admired most about him was his passion for connecting others. He listened with genuine interest, remembered everyone's name along with their interests, and made a point to connect people who might have common interests or benefit from knowing one another.

“While I was unemployed, I got an email or call from Andy at least once a week introducing me to someone he thought would be helpful to talk to as part of my job search."

Bay Miry, of the development firm D&S Development, said that Andy "was an integral part of Midtown/downtown. He was a key part of what is going on down here."

"He was genuine, he had great perspective on things," added Miry. "Everyone around here is just shocked."

Part of the shock is the manner of Ekstrom's death. He was found Tuesday morning near the American River at Sutter's Landing, the new park at the northeast corner of downtown. There was a handgun by his side, and a police spokesman told Sacramento Press that his wound "appeared to be self-inflicted."

The circumstances of his death don't fit at all with the universal view of Andy, virtually all expressions of which include a mention of his ready smile, his long friendships and his love of social gatherings.

"It just doesn't make any sense," says one friend who prefers to be anonymous. "People have all sorts of issues that they don't show anyone. But Andy was just so bright, so upbeat...it's just crazy, it drives you nuts trying to figure it out."

But it is Andy’s smile, his work, and his generous, inclusive spirit that are being celebrated now.

Ali Mackani is owner of Lounge on 20, one of the businesses in the MARRS building that was so important to Andy.

"It's always been a personal communication, it was never a manager-tenant relationship," says Mackani. "I think that's how he dealt with everyone else in the building.

"Everyone called him the unofficial mayor; he was an adamant promoter of Midtown," says Mackani. "He chaired a bunch of different organizations...everything from business to architectural design and things like that. He was definitely someone that was a leader in our community, (he) would have been a great leader over time."

"He's one of the reasons I'm here," said J-E Paino, of Rubicon Partners, and another passionate believer in Sacramento's future. "He took me under his wing when I first came to town, he showed me around, introduced me to people. He said, 'Come be a part of this.'

"And that wasn't unusual, he did that for everyone."

Jake Favour is a graphic designer and a passionate believer in Sacramento's future. He tells the same story.

"We first met when I was pitching Heller Pacific on a new retail concept," says Favour. "Andy met me with enthusiasm, a quiet attentiveness and most of all, a great welcoming smile and support - even when others didn't.

"Over the next few years, we met often and held multiple events at the MARRS building. Andy was always extremely trusting, supportive and excited to share in what we were doing. He was a bright, talented and enthusiastic young soul and he will be greatly missed."

Says Harris, "He worked tirelessly to shine a light on his hometown and all the exciting things happening here. I will never forget my first 'tour' of Sacramento with Andy - we went to nearly every restaurant and bar on the grid, and of course Andy knew at least one person at each place. To say he will be missed is an understatement - there are many, many heavy hearts across Sacramento today."

In some ways, Andy represented the best of what development can be: Creating places for community to happen.

"At the end of the day, a building's just a building," says Rubicon Partners' Paino. "You've got to have people in it. And Andy made that happen. He put people in the buildings. He brought people together, customer and vendor, friend and friend, and it added up.

"I think his legacy will be all the relationships that developed because of him. He made his hometown a better place."

There is no word yet of a service.

Sacramento Press managing editor Colleen Belcher contributed to this story.

See Broadway examined as an "edge environment"

2009-05-27T04:59:02Z

Sacramento Press intern Casey Kirk saw this press release and thought it might a good story for Sacramento Press to cover. I agreed. I also want to post this heads-up to anyone who might be interested. The release itself:

“Edge effect” is a term borrowed from ecology, where it refers to activity in the areas between different land uses. Broadway exhibits a degree of diversity that is similar to nature’s edge effect. On Broadway, these characteristics add up to a high-energy center that draws people from other parts of the city as well as from adjacent neighborhoods. The question of interest from an urban design perspective is: Will future development enhance or diminish Broadway’s edge effect?

Wednesday, May 27th
6:00 to 7:30pm
AIA/Central Valley Conference Room
1400 S Street, Sacramento

free admission

This month’s presenters include Tina Suarez-Murias, AICP, an environmental planner who will discuss the “edge effect concept;” Robin Datel, PhD, an urban geographer who will discuss the historical transformation of Broadway; and David de la Pena, an architect and urban designer who will frame the role of designers in communicating Broadway’s future. A dialogue will follow, facilitated by Brian Fischer, founder of MidtownGrid.com.

Come early for refreshments provided courtesy of the Greater Broadway Partnership, and to view student design work.

The AIA Office is located less than two blocks from the 13th Street Light Rail Station. Parking is available on-street and in nearby lots. Please enter from 14th Street, not S Street. The building is wheelchair accessible.

New lofts at 14th and R

2009-04-05T02:14:36Z

At street level, the news at 14th and R Streets in the Grid is a whole row of new dining establishments: The Shady Lady bar and restaurant on the corner, Magpie Catering, Top This yogurt shop and Burgers and Brew. And there's a fifth establishment that doesn't serve food: hair styling diva Marci Landgraf's return to the salon business, yet to be named. (See Colleen Belcher’s Sacramento Press story tomorrow on the downstairs restaurants, which either have opened or will open in the next week.)

But there's another story on the second story: 12 lofts being sold by D&S Development, now on their third group of lofts in the Grid. Bay Miry of D&S (son of David Miry, the D in D&S, the S being Steve Lebastchi) gave me a tour of the lofts the other afternoon - that is, of the six units that haven't already been sold.

The units are old-school lofts, carved out of what was originally the Perfection Baking Company, then the Wonderbread factory and finally, the Pamela Skinner Gallery. Somewhere along in there, legendary local artist Steve Vanoni called the space home.

Now, the units have been converted the way lofts used to be converted, before companies built whole buildings and designed the units to be “lofts.” In fact, the units were designed by Miry and his dad, painstakingly worked out foot by foot. They’re small, but on short acquaintance, they look like they would work.

Miry, a twenty-something Rio Americano High School graduate who went away to school to study political science but found himself drawn back to his hometown, showed off the place in the company of his girlfriend, Samantha Peterson, who lived in D&S’s I Lofts in Old Sac before being one of the first to buy a place on R Street. Why?

“They’re beautiful, they’re in the middle of town with all these restaurants and bars nearby,” she said, sitting out in front of Magpie Catering and eating a late lunch. As for why she’s bought a loft, she asked, rhetorically, “Do you know how long it takes to clean 500 square feet? 20 minutes.”

The places are small, but they’re priced right, which is why they’ve moved so quickly in a down market. With spaces ranging from 498 to 1002 square feet, and prices that range from $209,000 to $379,000, the lofts on R Street are priced well for people who want to be near the action but can’t afford other, tonier lofts.

As Miry points out, the mortgage on a 500 square foot, $209,000 loft is about the same as a reasonable apartment, “and that’s not counting the mortgage deduction or parking.” Indeed, each loft comes with one parking space in a gated, covered parking area directly behind the lofts.

The spaces are gorgeous, with high-end appliances, frosted glass enclosures for bathrooms, and some elevated sleeping areas. There’s a lot of exposed brick and massive iron I-beams, as well as recycled wood and fashionable metal braces and stair steps.

Plus, there’s a big open wooden deck on the north side of the lofts, overlooking light rail with views of downtown’s skyscrapers - a nice place for outside cocktails.

Digging into The Docks

2009-03-23T04:52:11Z

After decades of neglect, with plans announced and then seemingly forgotten, the grand project to connect the Sacramento River with downtown Sacramento is underway.

Crews began tearing up asphalt, railroad tracks and even the bike trail in preparation for extending the riverfront promenade that now extends just a couple of blocks south of the Embassy Suites hotel at the head of Capitol Mall, abutting the Tower Bridge. Ultimately, it will go a mile south, to Miller Park, tying the city to its riverfront as never before.

When completed, the promenade will extend to the R Street viaduct over I-5, the first step in converting the riverfront to a mixed-use area most often compared with San Antonio's Riverwalk. Future plans include hotels, homes and shops, as well as a half-acre park between R and S Streets.

For now, however, the entire area is behind a cyclone fence, with crews tearing up the tracks that have until recently been home to the California Excursion Train, a classic train that takes visitors to Old Sacramento from the Railway Museum all the way down to Miller Park and back.

The popular train is not gone for long, however, according to Beth Pincher, project manager for the Docks Promenade Parkway. Instead, the tracks will be relain during the next few weeks, just a few feet to the east, to allow room for the promenade, which will itself provide the foundation of sorts for further development.

"We'll have the train up and running by April 6," said Pincher.

The pictures above were taking over the last couple of months, some before the fencing, some after. A couple of years from now, this place will look very different.

Even more work is being done on the West Sacramento side, particularly between the Tower and I Street Bridges, in front of the Ziggurat and the new CalSTRS building. But south of the Tower Bridge, the entire stretch of land is slated for development, something that long-time proponents of incorporating the river into both towns have long sought. The West Sacramento city council OK'd $700,000 for the southern section just last week, and Sacramento's development will use some $4.9 million in funds set aside for the project.

The Libby's Cannery gets canned!

2009-02-12T20:55:57Z

When developer Mark Friedman bought the old Libby's cannery at the corner of Alhambra and Stockton Boulevard a couple of years ago, he wanted to raise the profile of the gorgeous old brick building (which contains Alhambra Athletic Club and other tenants) and acknowledge its historic role as one of the old canneries that dotted Sacramento (another was on Richards Boulevard, another on Elvas) back when Sacramento was known more for tomatos and hops than nightclubs and movie star governors.

So, he hired the graphic and interior design team of Michael and Lindy Dunlavey to give the place a suitable look. First up, nice new signage at the building's parking lot entrance at the end of Q Street. And today, the second part of the facelift went up: a huge metal can affixed to the corner of the building.

"It's sort of an homage to Claes Oldenburg," says Michael Dunlavey, supervising the placement of the giant can Thursday morning. "But where I got the idea was, I was thinking about a design, and I opened a can of soup for lunch. And there it was. And I loved the ribs."

Dunlavey had first gone to the old city archives, looking through photos from the cannery during its heyday. "But it was brutal, dangerous work, not very upbeat. I wanted something more fun."

In the works for about a year and a half - getting anything approved in Sacramento is a lengthy, expensive process - Dunlavey said that one hang-up was that he wanted the lid of the can open, which anyone passing by can tell you is half of the piece's charm. But typical municipal restrictions on signage state that a sign - any sign - shouldn't break the roofline on a building. But lots of lobbying got the restriction waived - "It's really more public art than signage," explains Dunlavey - and the result is worth the wait.

Built by Western Sign Company in Diamond Springs, the can weighs approximately 500 pounds and is 11 feet tall, seven foot in diameter, and took two months to fabricate. It even has Dunlavey's beloved ribs. It looks, for all to see, like a giant tin can. And it is a graphic reminder that, whatever else is now in this building, its roots in Sacramento's agricultural/industrial history are forever acknowledged.

Magpie Catering goes retail

2009-02-03T03:12:33Z

Ed Roehr returned to his native Sacramento several years ago, after spending much of his adult life traveling around the world and working as a chef in a variety restaurants.

He worked for Morton's Steakhouse as a corporate chef, worked in Venice, Italy, worked in Santa Cruz, worked in Honolulu, Hawaii.

"I have an honors degree in economics," he says sheepishly. "And I'm still washing dishes."

But Roehr doesn't just wash the dishes - he creates the food on them. And soon, he'll be presenting his food to the general public. Gone for years, Roehr returned to Sactown because he loves it, and he felt that he could do a business of his own here.

"You don't need a fortune to start something here, you don't need a few hundred thousand dollars," he says, standing out in front of his new restaurant, Magpie Catering, which will open this month in the new complex of eateries opening in the old brick railroad building that runs between 14th and 15th Streets on R Street. His neighbors, already established, are R15 and the nightclub Empire. Other new places coming to the beautiful old building are Burgers 'n' Brew, the frozen yogurt shop Top This and the speakeasy bar, The Shady Lady, all of which will open this spring.

"There's still opportunity here for people with ideas," Roehr says. "And people in Sac respond well to new ideas."

Magpie Catering started four years ago, and has done well. In the new space, Roehr and his partner will continue to cater out the back door of the space's extensive kitchen, and sell retail salads and other light fare out the front. In addition to salads, Magpie will offer panini and local wines. There will be outdoor seating and take away.

Magpie will also be offering $4 and $5 glasses of local wine from Amador County. They'll also be making their own sausage from fresh local ingredients. And to keep it real, they'll be starting slow, with weekday hours only, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

But that should keep them plenty busy. Still, Roehr says, "I love to cook. We're going to have fun with this."

Hot Italians, bicycle rims and instant pizza

2009-01-28T06:08:07Z

A year in the making, the new home of pizza-with-style - Hot Italian at the corner of 16th and Q in the downtown Sacramento Grid - will be opening inside of three weeks. The owner's self-declared deadline: the Amgen Tour of California on Feb. 14.

"That's Valentine's Day as well," says Andrea Leport, the woman who has managed this eatery from concept to near-fruition. "And the next day is St. Faustino's Day, the holiday for the single."

Sounds like they're expecting business those days. And tying it to the big international bike race fits perfectly the theme of Hot Italian.

“We’re all about the two wheels,” says Andrea Lepore.

Hot Italian is a concept place that aims to serve lifestyle as well as food, says Lepore. The business really wants to serve cyclists and bikers of all stripes, and beyond its layout and such details as barstools made of old bike rims, has gone out of its way with the city to make it’s parking bike-friendly. The city has changed a couple of car lengths of parking into parking for motorbikes only, with more parking for bikes on the sidewalk.

And eventually, the pizza will be delivered – perhaps even on two wheels.

Hot Italian is also punnily named for charming head chef Fabrizio Cercaione, an Italian immigrant with a quick smile who was there when a group of us from SacramentoPress.com stopped by. He didn’t hesitate to toss a pizza up (literally) and fire it in the wood stove in a flash.

My interns got a taste, but I wasn’t quick enough; they assured me it was delicious.

But there will be plenty of chances to try Hot Italians’ pizza; the place opens in mere weeks, and is a very good bet to turn into one of the key hangouts in what is still a booming downtown Sacramento.

Film group discusses business

2009-01-19T23:39:12Z

Many people are surprised when they hear that California doesn’t have a film commission that offers incentives to film production companies to film in the state. 44 states do, as do many countries, but California, well...we have HOLLYWOOD!

But film production companies are leaving the state to shoot in much lower-cost locales, many of which are cheaper because the local governments offer tax breaks and other incentives to lure production to their jurisdictions. California, argues state Assemblyman Paul Kerkorian (D - Burbank), needs to institute such incentives.

The members of the Capital Film Arts Alliance agree, which is why the 750-strong Sacramento area filmmakers organization has invited Kerkorian to speak to its first meeting of the new year, tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 20) at the Art Institute of Sacramento, 2850 Gateway Oaks Drive. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Kerkorian will speak on the importance of establishing incentives such as those that are luring production out of California. That loss of revenues costs the state tens of millions of dollars, argues Laurie Pederson, a local film producer who is hosting Kerkorian’s visit.

“44 other states subsidize film production,” she says. “I can spent $10 million in California, or I can do a $10 million film for $6 million two states away. It makes a difference in whether you can cast Mary Lee Jones or Charlize Theron in your film.”

In general, production costs are roughly the same everywhere, says Pederson, because it’s dictated by the number of people and number of production days. Hotel and other costs vary some, but that’s not what makes the difference.

But, she says, “If you give incentives, you reduce the costs to the producer. There are creative ways to do it. Most of the incentives are a tax incentive or rebate, or a politically-authorized or -funded savings. It ranges from 25-45 percent, it’s huge. Canada will hand you 50 percent, and guarantee that their people have a large role in the production.”

In California, local film commissions court producers, and some communities do pretty well, San Francisco being the obvious case. But that’s because if you want a film set in San Francisco, you’ve got to go to San Francisco. Sacramento is a different matter, a harder sell. And Sacramento doesn’t have a film commission. We get films done here, occasionally, but not often. And it’s costing us.

“For every dollar spent, you will see a return of $3-6 to that community,” says Pederson. “Food, recreation, lodging, transportation - there are a huge number of expenses that stay in a community. Most political people see this in terms of brick and mortar: If we bring in this big box store, we’re going to get this much in taxes or whatever.

“Films are different,” she says. “It’s like pitching green energy, because it’s new and it’s hard to understand. So they don’t fight for it. So for us, it’s an education process that has to begin somewhere. If we don’t start it and keep at it, it’s not going to happen.”

Pederson cites the Sacramento area’s most successful film producers as an example.

“Redwood Palms Pictures is based in the El Dorado Hills-Folsom area,” she says, “And they’ve got multi-million film productions. But they film everything out of state, because their business is not being pursued here. The Redwood Palms guys would love to stay here and put their money back in the community, but they have to go out of state to stretch their budgets.”

And, it might be added, they DID get Charlize Theron, for their 2008 film, “Battle in Seattle.”

“So we’re working to just continue to draw attention this, to beat that drum,” says Pederson. “We’re building this film community so that when all the storms converge, the timing will be perfect, and we’ll have the organization and process together.”

New Year's at the newest urban center: 10th and J

2008-12-31T02:01:07Z

Still no new year's plans? For once, you don’t have to plan anything much. Just drive downtown to 10th and K to see the new year in at Sacramento’s newest nightlife center: 10th Street between J and K.

This New Year’s Eve will mark the official debut of Sacramento’s newest, and in some ways, finest, nightlife block. While the moaning and arguing continues about the K Street Mall between 7th and 9th, a single block of 10th Street between K and J is poised to impress.

With this month’s opening of the Citizen Hotel and its gorgeous, elegant restaurant The Grange - following the November opening of The Cosmopolitan, with its restaurant, bar, upstairs club Social and theatre the Cosmopolitan Cabaret - that one block of downtown is not only promising, it’s downright inspiring.

And with a New Year’s Eve ball drop planned for tomorrow night, Sacramento is going to get to see what is too often ignored: Sacramento’s growing, first-class core. You’ll have to pass a few sketchy looking characters to do it, but have you been to Union Square lately? Get over it! Nightlife and urban decay go hand in hand. Be real!

With the funky chic of Parlare Euro Lounge, which opened earlier this year, and wonderful Temple Coffee and Tea, as well as the more down to earth Japanese restaurant Megami, that single block of 10th Street can entertain for an evening, even a day. Even, with the Citizen, an overnight.

All that’s really missing is people. And Wednesday night’s ball drop should bring them in droves. I took a look at the intersection today (Tuesday) and there was no sign of preparations for a ball drop or anything else. But it’s on, nevertheless. And for suburbanites anxious about braving the “urban core,” there’s a nice big parking garage just a block away at 10th and L Streets. Enter on L Street, and enjoy.

The opening of the Citizen Hotel and The Grange restaurant are particularly promising, the crossing of a Rubicon of sorts. I had drinks there last night, and while one didn’t measure up, most (at $10 a pop, I cadged sips) were delicious. And the setting is absolutely stunning, with high ceilings, beautiful wood and fabric features and above it all, a private banquet room that is spectacular.

The Citizen and The Grange are extraordinary. The most unique hotel in downtown Sacramento, the Citizen has none of the big box fixtures that make the Hyatt and even the Sheraton rather cookie-cutter. The Citizen, with its elegant entryway and cozy, labyrinthine lounges and consistently clever government (malfeasance) theme, makes full use of the old 1926 building, down to the old room directories that still stand in the lobby. It's marble and carved plaster, wood and heavy curtains, comfortable chairs and carpets of red and black and gold. Stunning.

This is a Manhattan-worthy hotel, and visitors are instantly transported to a different era, and a different sense of space. The lobby is lined with old law books, some turned on their sides to create a greater sense of space, and the upstairs bar Scandal features a terrific series of six cartoons by Sacramento Bee cartoonist Rex Babin. A classy joint from top to bottom. Go see it yourself. This New Year’s Eve may be a great time to start.

What has been lost

2008-12-18T01:18:34Z

It remains to be seen what will become of Mike Heller and Paul Thiebaud's lauded Tribute Building, a monument to their fathers soon to be erected at the corner of 20th and Capitol Avenue, according to Bob Shallit's column in The Bee. But before we stride forward into the future, he's a photo of the old "livery stable" (its actual use is more familiar to us as home of Steve Rex Cycles) that once sat on the site, before Heller's crew got to it.

Then there's the question of the old trees that potentially stand in the way of views of the new building...