K St. revival project moves along
Published: Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Sacramento took a big step Tuesday toward remaking K Street's bleakest stretch into a hub of city life.
By a unanimous vote, the Sacramento City Council approved the development agreement and financing plan for a $47.7 million project that will bring housing, restaurants, boutiques and live music to the 700 block of the K Street Mall.
If all goes smoothly, the developer behind the project said he hopes to break ground by the end of the year – and finish by 2014.
"This is going to change the look and feel of K Street," Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. "It's something the city of Sacramento has been working really hard to get and we're stepping across the threshold."
City Hall spent years – and $42 million – acquiring 19 properties along the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.
The City Council voted in July to hand over those properties and millions of dollars in redevelopment subsidies to two development teams.
The financing plan for a project on the 800 block led by downtown developer David Taylor is still being ironed out, and city officials are hoping to present a plan to the council by the end of the summer.
For now, City Hall's attention will turn to the 700 block – the stretch of mostly empty storefronts bordering Westfield Downtown Plaza.
"We think this project will be a huge catalyst for that area," said developer Bay Miry, who is best known for his red brick restaurant and residential project at 14th and R streets in midtown.
Miry's D&S Development and CFY Development are proposing 137 moderate-income and market-rate housing units facing both the K Street Mall and the alley between K and L streets.
City Hall has long wanted to add residents to K Street. Bringing housing to the area "gives people a sense of confidence that there is a new downtown," said Leslie Fritzsche, the city's downtown development manager.
A live music venue is planned for the property at the corner of Seventh and K streets. The group that operates the Shady Lady Saloon on R Street in midtown is lined up to run the 500-spectator venue, which will feature a rooftop terrace and restaurant.
The theater would attract local and national acts, similar to a House of Blues or the Fillmore in San Francisco, Miry said.
Another restaurant with a rooftop terrace is planned two doors down from the music venue. "We think Sacramento should be the city of rooftops with the weather we have," Miry said.
Sidewalk seating for restaurants will line the block and some of the basements will be used for retail space.
Miry would not name all of the retail tenants slated to move into the block, but he and city officials said occupants have been secured for 75 percent of the ground-floor retail spaces. The proposal calls for nearly doubling the amount of retail space included in Miry's original plan last year.
Those tenants will include clothing boutiques, a floral shop, a bakery and other restaurants. Many of the operators are from the Sacramento region, although Miry wants to land a national retailer for the space at 726 K St., the site of the former Tower Records store.
The plan also calls for restoring the historic storefronts lining K Street, a proposal that met with a somewhat rare unanimous approval from the city's preservation commission, city officials said.
The work will be funded in part with $13.7 million in redevelopment money – $2 million less than what Miry had initially requested. The city will recoup that funding – plus another $4 million – over the next 30 years by receiving some of the revenue generated by the residential and retail properties, Miry and Fritzsche said.
Developer cash, private loans and federal tax credits targeted for blighted areas will fill in the remaining financing, officials said.
An estimated 500 jobs will be created once the project is finished, and 300 to 400 more jobs are expected for the construction process, according to a city staff report. Sales-tax revenue from the development is estimated at $1.6 million annually.
City officials see the project as part of a larger revival along K Street and downtown.
The Greyhound bus station is expected to move from its current L Street location to Richards Boulevard in the coming weeks, and automobiles will return to the K Street Mall later this year. New entertainment venues on the eastern blocks of K Street have instilled new life into that section of the mall.
By a unanimous vote, the Sacramento City Council approved the development agreement and financing plan for a $47.7 million project that will bring housing, restaurants, boutiques and live music to the 700 block of the K Street Mall.
If all goes smoothly, the developer behind the project said he hopes to break ground by the end of the year – and finish by 2014.
"This is going to change the look and feel of K Street," Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said. "It's something the city of Sacramento has been working really hard to get and we're stepping across the threshold."
City Hall spent years – and $42 million – acquiring 19 properties along the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street.
The City Council voted in July to hand over those properties and millions of dollars in redevelopment subsidies to two development teams.
The financing plan for a project on the 800 block led by downtown developer David Taylor is still being ironed out, and city officials are hoping to present a plan to the council by the end of the summer.
For now, City Hall's attention will turn to the 700 block – the stretch of mostly empty storefronts bordering Westfield Downtown Plaza.
"We think this project will be a huge catalyst for that area," said developer Bay Miry, who is best known for his red brick restaurant and residential project at 14th and R streets in midtown.
Miry's D&S Development and CFY Development are proposing 137 moderate-income and market-rate housing units facing both the K Street Mall and the alley between K and L streets.
City Hall has long wanted to add residents to K Street. Bringing housing to the area "gives people a sense of confidence that there is a new downtown," said Leslie Fritzsche, the city's downtown development manager.
A live music venue is planned for the property at the corner of Seventh and K streets. The group that operates the Shady Lady Saloon on R Street in midtown is lined up to run the 500-spectator venue, which will feature a rooftop terrace and restaurant.
The theater would attract local and national acts, similar to a House of Blues or the Fillmore in San Francisco, Miry said.
Another restaurant with a rooftop terrace is planned two doors down from the music venue. "We think Sacramento should be the city of rooftops with the weather we have," Miry said.
Sidewalk seating for restaurants will line the block and some of the basements will be used for retail space.
Miry would not name all of the retail tenants slated to move into the block, but he and city officials said occupants have been secured for 75 percent of the ground-floor retail spaces. The proposal calls for nearly doubling the amount of retail space included in Miry's original plan last year.
Those tenants will include clothing boutiques, a floral shop, a bakery and other restaurants. Many of the operators are from the Sacramento region, although Miry wants to land a national retailer for the space at 726 K St., the site of the former Tower Records store.
The plan also calls for restoring the historic storefronts lining K Street, a proposal that met with a somewhat rare unanimous approval from the city's preservation commission, city officials said.
The work will be funded in part with $13.7 million in redevelopment money – $2 million less than what Miry had initially requested. The city will recoup that funding – plus another $4 million – over the next 30 years by receiving some of the revenue generated by the residential and retail properties, Miry and Fritzsche said.
Developer cash, private loans and federal tax credits targeted for blighted areas will fill in the remaining financing, officials said.
An estimated 500 jobs will be created once the project is finished, and 300 to 400 more jobs are expected for the construction process, according to a city staff report. Sales-tax revenue from the development is estimated at $1.6 million annually.
City officials see the project as part of a larger revival along K Street and downtown.
The Greyhound bus station is expected to move from its current L Street location to Richards Boulevard in the coming weeks, and automobiles will return to the K Street Mall later this year. New entertainment venues on the eastern blocks of K Street have instilled new life into that section of the mall.
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