The Midtown alley next to Old Soul Co. was expected to be closed to through traffic starting Monday when utility upgrades were scheduled to begin.   A contractor working for the city's Department of Utilities was expected to start a $187,000 project to replace 80- to 100-year-old, underground water and sewer pipes running the length of the alley, located from 17th to 18th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue, as well as to adjacent properties. "They've reached the end of their useful life, and it's time to replace them," said Jessica Hess, spokeswoman for the city's utilities department. The work is the first step in a nearly $400,000 pilot alley project to improve the alley

A prototype condo building will be constructed on a Midtown alley after approval by the city earlier this month. The Planning Division of the Sacramento Community Development Department granted a parking waiver and a side yard variance on Oct. 8 for a pilot alley residential project known as "Stitch" when developer Jeremy Drucker worked out compromises to address nearby residents' concerns. "The biggest concern was how heavily that block is impacted for parking," said Drucker, who previously developed 9 on F, the central city's first residential project certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Drucker made his comments Thursday a

Work on a pilot alley project may begin next year after $100,000 in community development money has become available, Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn said Wednesday. The money is coming from unused federal community development block grant (CDBG) funds leftover from a street lighting program in North Sacramento's Ben Ali neighborhood. Like most lighting projects, this one came in way under budget, enabling some funds to be used instead for public infrastructure in Midtown's first "alley activation" project, said Cohn, whose Third District encompasses both neighborhoods. "Our hope is that it'll be part of a larger program that will make use of a lot more alleys," he said. Cohn

A group interested in transforming alleys will present three prototypes to the Sacramento City Council Tuesday. A restaurant row concept is proposed to hold a mix of outdoor cafés just steps from Memorial Auditorium. Another could contain an alley-front condo sales model. The third would demonstrate the vision for alley hardscapeimprovements. The Alley Activation Committee is proposing three pilot alleys in Midtown. Two would stretch from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue in the Handle District, and a third is proposed for the alley from I to J streets between 16th and 17th streets. "It's thinking about the whole piece of how do people live and work in the city,"

The two Midtown alleys stand largely quiet and deserted, except for the occasional rumbling delivery truck and dumpsters crouched behind buildings. The alleys have a hidden, tranquil feel in contrast to busy streets they run between. A third alley holding the entrance to Old Soul coffee house gets more foot traffic and cars heading surreptitiously to and from a state parking garage. So many cars, in fact, that they rob the alley of that serene environment. One group has another vision for what these alleys could become. They see al fresco dining in an upscale restaurant row reminiscent of San Francisco's Belden Street. They see a small, affordable, alley-front condo building that doesn'