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

Sacramento is a city with limited transit options and lots of freeways, a city at the absolute downstream end of freeway rivers flooded with vehicles. Light rail only serves some portions of the city, and farther out along the light rail lines, many neighborhoods are not connected to stations, forcing residents to drive downtown.   Buses are few and far between. There aren’t enough bicycle routes. Pedestrians take their lives in their hands when they cross the street, even if crossing on a green light with a walk sign. Freeways and streets grow more congested every year and, at least in the Central City, parking grows ever more expensive and difficult to find.   Air pollution is getting