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,

On the heels of another record-setting year of increased enrollment, EPIC Bible College (formerly Trinity Life Bible College), has located to a new campus. EPIC will host a VIP and Media “Hard Hat” Tour and Reception on its new campus, 4330 Auburn Blvd., Thursday, August 11, 2011, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The new college campus is located just off of the Interstate 80 corridor and includes over 30,000 square feet of space—nearly four times the size of its former home off of Madison Avenue at Hillsdale Blvd.—with plenty of on site parking and “front door” access to public transportation. EPIC’s early relocation came about as a result of the economic “perfect storm”—a withering local commercial real

With the approval of the 700 block project on K street, developers Bay Miry and Ali Youssefi are closer to realizing their long-awaited vision. But that vision has changed in some unexpected ways since its initial proposal. First, that vision “got a lot bigger,” Miry said. When Miry and Youssefi were awarded the project in July 2010, they didn’t have access to the interior of the buildings at the project site. “The initial proposal was very conceptual in nature,” Youssefi said. “We knew that if our team was selected we'd have the opportunity (later) to refine the project design based on a thorough inspection of all the buildings.” Once they were handed keys in late August, they had a

The R Street improvements currently under construction from 10th to 13th streets are getting a few more amenities, as construction left extra funds in an approximately $1 million $1.5 million federal grant allocated to the project. The City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to approve 13 more pedestrian benches, 13 banners affixed to streetlights and a decorative arch that spans R Street at 10th Street and a pedestrian arch over the sidewalk on 12th Street and R Street, to be constructed by Teichert Construction, the main contractor for the project. “This will be the icing on the cake to R street and will make the area more pedestrian-friendly,” Sacramento Department of Transportation sp

The City Council approved $30,915 for the design phase of H Street Bridge Repairs Project Tuesday, which will be done by Dokken Engineering. H Street Bridge is located where H and J streets come together on the west side of the bridge. The bridge turns into Fair Oaks Boulevard and connects the areas of downtown and East Sacramento. Assistant Civil Engineer for the Department of Transportation Josh Werner said the bridge was built in 1932, and improvements were last done in 1991 to 1992 to widen the bridge and reconstruct the bridge approach on the east side. Department of Transportation Engineering Services Manager Nicholas Theocharides said that while the work being done is nothing maj

Construction on the light rail’s Gold Line will close numerous stations and streets over the weekend as it will be undergoing track renovations from 6 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Monday. The Gold Line construction will close the Eighth and K streets, Seventh and I streets, County Center and the Sacramento Valley Stations as well as several streets. Regional Transit spokeswoman Alane Masui said that from 6 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, eastbound H Street between Sixth and Ninth streets, southbound Seventh Street between F and I streets, and northbound Eighth Street between I and G streets will be closed. Masui also said that from 8 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Monday, eastbound H Street between S

Sacramento Kings fans will have to keep holding their breath over a possible team move after a National Basketball Association official on Friday said the league needs time to learn more about the unfolding deal in Anaheim and the viability of keeping the team in the capital. The NBA Board of Governors agreed to extend the deadline for the Maloofs’ request to move until May 2. On Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and San Francisco investor Darius Anderson told NBA team owners that billionaire Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle is leading a plan to buy the Kings or help bring another pro basketball team here if the Kings leave. Johnson also said he and business leaders have r

Loaves & Fishes is building a new 15,000-square-foot combination warehouse, reception area and administrative building on the corner of North C and Ahern streets. “This is really our welcoming center,” said Sister Libby Fernandez, executive director of Loaves & Fishes. “This is the entrance to Loaves and Fishes.” There were several reasons to build the new structure, which is a warehouse with interior walls to give space for offices in addition to storage, Fernandez said. The current warehouse and donation center is a rented space near Friendship Park and sees a lot of foot traffic, which poses a safety issue, Fernandez said. “We have 700 people walking through there every day,” she sa

This $47 million projects planned for the northwest corner of 7th & H Street has now received all needed entitlements and necessary financing to move forward with construction anticipated for March 2011. The project will be funded with $25 million in 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $8,200,000 loan funded by Home Investment Partnership Program, a $6,859,695 capitol grant and $3,750,000 operating grant funded by Downtown Low Moderate Tax Increment Funds, and a land grant for the acquisition, construction and permanent financing of the 7th & H Project. Developer and owner Mercy Housing California is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing quality affordable housing with