What: The Greenest Building Documentary Film, followed by a panel discussion on the connections between historic preservation, green building and economic sustainability. When: Monday, July 25 at 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM (Movie 7:00 PM, discussion panel 8:00 PM) Where: The Crest Theatre, 1013 K Street, Sacramento How Much: Free! Over the next 20 years, Americans will demolish one third of our existing building stock (over 82 billion square feet) in order to replace seemingly inefficient buildings with energy efficient “green” structures. Is demolition in the name of sustainability really the best use of natural, social, and economic resources? Or, like the urban renewal programs of the 1960’s, i

This Wednesday, March 2, the City of Sacramento's Preservation Commission will review and comment on plans for the 800 block of K Street. This plan follows the February review and comment for the 700 block of K Street, (a project of D&S Development and CFY Development) by the Preservation Commission, later presented to Design and Planning Commission. City of Sacramento Preservation Commission Wednesday, March 2, 5:30 PM, City Council Chambers, New City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento Agenda for the Preservation Commission meeting can be found here: http://sacramento.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=21&event_id=144   This project, selected last summer as one of two projects for the

On Wednesday, April 7 at 5:30 PM, Sacramento's Preservation Commission will meet at City Hall, 915 I Street, in the main council chambers. In addition to other agenda items, they will hear staff reports and provide direction regarding the four projects proposed for the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. Due to changes in the way the Preservation Commission reviews projects, and due to the relatively low number of hearings in recent months, the Preservation Commission does not meet every month. The April 7 meeting will be the first held in 2010; the others were canceled because there were no scheduled hearings. The general public first viewed the projects proposed for the 700/800 blocks of K

On Monday, March 22, the city of Sacramento will host presentations by the four development groups interested in building a project on the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. This meeting will be held at Old City Hall, 915 I Street, in the 2nd floor hearing room, at 5:30 PM. The four groups who responded to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) include: * Bridge Housing, Saca Development and Bagatelos Development They propose 360 units of housing, a renovated Bel-Vue, 48,000 square feet of office not on Agency property, and 33,000 square feet of retail. * David Taylor, CIM Development, Domus, and Zeiden Properties They propose 110 housing units, including a renovated Bel-Vue, 60,000 square

A revised proposal by USA Hospitality, Inc. and their equity partners Consus Asset Management and Industrial General has been submitted for building a Marriott Renaissance Hotel at the corner of 8th & K Street. The new proposal includes a decrease in the number of hotel rooms from 409 to 300, and a decrease in the number of parking spaces from 372 to 350 while adding 100 condominiums on top of the parking garage as a second phase of the project. The total cost to build the project went up from $137 million to $162 million along with the needed city subsidy to build from $31.5 million to $33 million. The developer has asked that the city give them the land which is city-owned for free, and

On Tuesday, August 25, the Sacramento City Council will hear a proposal by developers Bob Leach and Parkcrest Development to build a hotel at the corner of 8th and K Street and a parking structure at the corner of 8th and L Street, a project that would require demolition of city landmark the Bel-Vue Apartments and adjacent buildings. The meeting will be held at New City Hall, 915 I Street, at 6:00 PM in the main City Council chambers. The item was originally to be heard at the August 11 meeting of the City Council (see sacramentopress.com/headline/11884/City_to_decide_on_fate_of_BelVue_Apartments_and_Berry_Hotel_today ) but was taken off the agenda at the last minute. According to the sta

On Tuesday, August 11, the Sacramento city council will decide whether to give away the half-block from K to L on 8th Street, containing the Bel-Vue Apartments and several other buildings to developers Bob Leach, Mohammed Mohanna and Parkcrest Development. The land was recently purchased by the city from Mohanna at a price of $18.6 million, and the developers are asking not only for free land but several years of tax-free operation. The net cost to the city will be about $34 million, 25% of the total investment for the project, in return for about 10% of the return. The proposed project is a 300-foot luxury hotel at 8th and K and a parking lot on 8th & L where the Bel-Vue stands. The proje

City plans to demolish the Bel-Vue and adjacent buildings were mentioned in my Sacramento Press article on July 3 ( http://sacramentopress.com/headline/10159/City_To_Demolish_Landmark_BelVue_Building ) but at the time the developer and financing organization behind the project were not identified. Since then, both have appeared, along with an additional partner. The financier, Consus Asset Management, is a new player in Sacramento. The developer, Bob Leach, just completed another Sacramento project, the Le Rivage Hotel. The other player in this project is a well-known name in K Street real estate, Mohammed “Mo” Mohanna. All three are asking the city for $18.6 million in free real estate an

The city of Sacramento has announced its plans to demolish the Bel-Vue Apartments, a registered city landmark, in order to clear land on 8th Street for a potential future parking structure. Located adjacent to the now-vacant corner of 8th and K Street, the Bel-Vue was built in 1910 as the American Cash Apartments. Built in the Craftsman style with Asian overtones, the three-story brick building contains apartments above a commercial ground floor. When the Bel-Vue was built, it was one of many downtown apartment buildings. If it was built today, the Bel-Vue would be described as a mixed-use, transit-oriented infill project. The building is currently owned by the city of Sacramento’s housi