It’s hard to believe how much has not changed at the former Towers site… it's been six years today since the job to construct two 53-story residential towers at Third Street and Capitol Mall was halted. Even if the two 600-foot towers estimated to cost $750 million project had been built, with the regions record home foreclosure rate over the last 4 years, today I imagine it would sit more than half empty like the L Street Lofts which only sold 22 of the 92-units. My contact at CalPERS says there are no plans to develop the site in the near future.  Just think, if 17 more condominiums would have sold to reach the bank requirement of 400 units, money from CalPERS and Deutsche Bank would ha

Today, Choice Hotels and Rebuilding Together are working to build a new outdoor kitchen for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services’ Demonstration Garden. Volunteers will be on site (3333 Third Ave, Sacramento, CA 95817) from 9am-4pm today painting, installing and prepping the area where nutrition education will soon take place. Last month, Choice Hotels partnered with Rebuilding Together to host a competition between four charities accross the nation. Supporters cast their vote and Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services won! Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services' Demonstration Garden broke ground earlier this year to help families understand that they can take an active role in improvin

An old boxing gym once frequented by the likes of George Foreman is the unlikely home to what some say is a hidden culinary surprise in Tahoe Park. Mighty Kong Cafe, located at 3701 Stockton Blvd., was formerly the Capital Boxing Gym before the cafe opened in 2008. Originally a muffin and coffee business, the renovation converted it to a full-service restaurant with an elegant feel, according to owner King Smith’s son, Lance Smith. “My little sister had just graduated from the Cordon Bleu (cooking school), and she said we had way too nice of a kitchen to just do muffins and coffee,” Lance Smith said. What ensued was a full remodel. Booth seating was brought in, an empty space was tra

For the next two weeks at Site 2, the contractor will be laying out and beginning to install plumbing, laying out the mechanical system, laying out and framing the third floor walls, floor joists, and laying out and framing fourth floor walls. At Site3, the contractor will be laying out walls on the newly-poured concrete deck above the first floor, removing the shoring that supported this floor during concrete pouring, begin framing the second floor, and install the plywood decking for the third floor. Work to lay out the building’s mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems will begin. Work began on this project at both the SW and NW corners of 16th and O Streets January 12th and i

With just a few more bricks to lay, “Seventh & H” looks pretty sharp for an affordable housing project. The eight-story, $47.4 million, 150-unit building by Mercy Housing is the first new structure going up in the railyards redevelopment project area. The project expected to be compleated in the Fall of this year. This project below at 626 I Steet will consist of 108 units for occupancy by extremely low income elderly persons in September 2012. This rehabilitation project project cost $19.4 million and was funded by grants to modernize the vacate building. Most of the funding came from the Federal Government, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). See before

The final touches are being taken care of at the new La Valentine apartments and judging by their Facebook page, they have a steady flow of new tenants moving in too.  This $27 million project has 81 units of affordable housing adjacent to the Alkali Flat/La Valentina light rail station. La Valentina Apartments - 429 12th Street, Sacramento, California 95814

Chronic emergency room overcrowding and costs for non-emergency care in California continue to escalate as consumers battle the economics of affordable living and healthcare during an increasingly difficult economic climate. With emergency room costs approximately 700% more than the cost for the same level of medical care at an urgent care facility, it’s a small wonder that according to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, 65 California emergency rooms have closed in the last decade alone. Healthcare has become a privilege rather than a right. Into this contentious setting, Everest Urgent Care launches in Sacramento, offering a new day for consumers where the patient’s

An intense struggle between residents of Oak Park and owners of a McDonald’s franchise will come to a head Tuesday when the City Council considers allowing a new drive-thru restaurant at the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Second Avenue – directly across the street from a UC Davis Med Center obesity clinic. “We are interested in something better for Oak Park,” Dr. Charlene Hauser, an Oak Park resident and a key member of the opposition to the project, said Friday. “We’d love to have something here that we feel would improve the neighborhood.” But McDonald’s franchise co-owner John Ritchey said in an email statement Sunday that he feels the restaurant will benefit the area. “We believe

The parking lot at Consumnes River College will be turned into a temporary construction zone May 2-3 as students from sixteen Sacramento County region high schools competed in the 26th Annual Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange Design/Build Competition. The two-day event is designed to promote awareness and interest among high school students in the construction and architectural design industries, as well as create a fun learning atmosphere. The student teams design and build 96 square foot structures from scratch, with materials provided by the Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange (SRBX) through its membership. “This nationally recognized program is a great opportunity for high scho

Construction is currently under way in the Sacramento Valley Station parking lot as the city upgrades the downtown railyards area with more accessibility in advance of the intermodal transit facility and possibly a new arena. Crews are using tractors to dig between the parking lot and I Street between Fourth and Fifth streets for an eventual exit to I Street from Fourth Street that will allow drivers quick access to Interstate 5 and Old Sacramento. The move will also give pedestrians better access to and from the station. “This is a long-awaited pedestrian improvement to the area,” Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Tucker said Tuesday, adding that it is an amenity for the i

Wells Fargo Center 20th Anniversary Today is the 20th anniversary of the Grand Opening for the Wells Fargo Center on Capitol Mall. As Sacramento’s tallest building at 423 ft, it has a distinctive curved copper roof caps the building, with a cleft in its middle as a postmodern architectural style. Inside the building there is a five-story clear glass atrium with granite and marble walls with a Wells Fargo history museum is located in the lobby and Il Fornaio Restaurant. The architect Hellmuth, Obata and Kassenbaum (HOK) designed the tower which also won the BOMA Building of the Year Award for 1994. This 502,000 sf. building occupies an entire 2.3 acre city block with a masonry & granite

With lenders tightening credit and the housing market still in flux, renters and homeowners are finding it hard to find an affordable place to live. Because funding is at all-time lows, nonprofit developers of multi-family and for-sale housing are looking for new ways to finance communities for people of modest means. Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association is no exception. The recent introduction of California bills like the HOMeS Act (Senate Bill 1220) could help. Introduced by Mark DeSaulnier (C-Concord) and Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) as well as co-author Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) on the Assembly side, the bill would generate an estimated $700 million

Every time I visit the Railyards it’s as if the earth there itself is churning, a breathing organism. Soil is moved, smoothed over and relocated again. Ditches are dug, tunnels are built and pathways begin to take some semblance. Because I come to the site every few months or so, it’s a surprise every time. The tunnels, which are taking shape for future pedestrians stand now as cold, hard bored out portions of the ground. Aluminum scaffolding peppers the inside, creating a metal web of sorts for workers. In the future, they may be bustling veins with foot traffic and the sounds of the masses. Rail signals have also sprouted between the 5th and 6th Street Bridges, waiting for their trains

Historically, the travel and tourism industry has proven to be resilient. In good news for hoteliers, strong growth will continue in 2012 proving there’s a method behind the long-forecasted, now completed renovation work at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento, and a reason to celebrate the Hyatt’s achievements as the hotel hosts VIPS at its Renovation Celebration, Thursday, January 12, 1209 L Street, downtown Sacramento, across from the State Capitol. The Hyatt began the long-awaited $3 million Phase II renovation last summer, finishing the hotel’s “public spaces," including the lobby floor, Amourath lobby lounge, Vines Restaurant, second floor meeting space and the 15th Floor Capitol View Room—

“Seventh & H" SRO - 7th & H Street, $47.4 million project. Expected completion date, Spring 2013 626 I Street Rehabilitation Project - $19.4 million. Expected completion date, Sept. 2012 La Valentina Station - 12th Street between D and E streets, $27 million project. Expected completion date, summer 2012. Sutter Medical Center - L & 29th Street, $600 million project. Expected completion date, late 2012. Read more at: http://livinginurbansac.blogspot.com/  

Construction on de Vere’s Irish Pub in Davis is about two weeks from being finished, and as the bar, which was custom-built in Ireland and then shipped to California, nears completion, Davis residents said they are excited to see a business fill a long-troubled space. The pub is a new location spawned off the successful de Vere’s Irish Pub at 1521 L St. in Sacramento. “It seems like it’s going to be a pretty good business,” said Matt Johnson, a 25-year-old bartender from Davis. “I’m excited, and I hope they’re successful.” Johnson said the space at 217 E St. in Davis has long been something of a revolving door for businesses, which have had trouble staying open much longer than a year.

A Midtown business owner is looking to add a second-floor patio area to her combination restaurant and lounge, but as the plans go to the Planning Commission for review Thursday, some neighbors say it will present a noise problem. Suleka Sun-Lindley owns Thai Basil and Level Up Lounge at 2431 J St., and with the lounge – which opened in 2007 – not making money, she said she hopes the addition of an open-air balcony will help it become profitable. “Thai Basil is doing well, but Level Up has been costing us money,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “I’m hoping that adding an area where people can go outside and smoke will make more people want to come.” The Thai restaurant, which opened in May

Crews made progress on preparation work for the 900 block of K Street Wednesday in advance of scheduled resurfacing starting Thursday night. The city is working to bring cars back to what has been a pedestrian mall for about 40 years. A tentative completion date has been set for the end of October, with a grand opening planned for Nov. 5, according to an email from Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the city Department of Transportation. The move to return vehicular traffic to the blighted area that was formerly a thriving business district was approved by the City Council earlier this year. The older brick paving stones were laid down atop sand, and over time, they tend to shift, making the

Sutter Medical Center L & 29th Street, $600 million project. Expected completion date, late 2012. La Valentina Station 12th Street between D and E streets. $27 million project. Expected completion date, summer 2012. Maydestone Apartments Corner of J & 15th Street. $7.2 million renovation. Expected completion date, February 1, 2012. “Seventh & H" SRO 7th & H Street. $47.4 million project. Expected completion date, Spring 2013. DMV Headquarters Upgrade 2415 1st Avenue $127 million renovation, 13-year renovation so far. Expected completion date, who knows??? 626 I Street Rehabilitation Project $19.4 million. Expected completion date, Sept. 2012

Construction on R Street downtown is on schedule for completion this fall, and local residents and businesses are largely supportive of the revamped streetscape that adds sidewalks, lighting and other amenities. “It’s progressing wonderfully,” said Dino R. Grassini, a manager at the Fox and Goose Pub and Restaurant, which sits on 10th and R streets. “Teichert (the contractor) is really helping minimize the impacts on business.” Construction has been taking place on R Street from 10th to 13th streets since last September, and the goals of the approximately $2.75 million project are to make continuous sidewalks, add street lighting and benches, and preserve some of the historic character,