Disclaimer: This article is my opinion, given as a central city resident and board member of the Sacramento Old City Association. I am not an employee of any of the firms involved, nor the city of Sacramento. I am enthusiastic about this project because it represents the best combination of historic preservation, new development, downtown infill, fiscal responsibility, and promotion of local business, culture, and heritage. In December 2009, the city of Sacramento asked local developers for plans to revitalize the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street. The project area occupies about one city block, around 2.5 acres, on two half-block lots. Four teams submitted proposals, and a five-member commi

The sudden directive by Sacramento City Unified School District that California Montessori Project must abandon the Old Marshall Elementary School has done more than disrupt the lives of the students, parents and faculty. It has the potential to strike a major blow to the renaissance of the central city. One of the primary reasons families choose where they live is what schools are available. CMP had operated successfully out of the Pioneer Church for eight years. The site did limit the size of the enrollment. When SCUSD deemed Old Marshall School safe for charter school and offered it to CMP, after careful consideration they accepted the offer. CMP was thrilled to have a beautiful buildin

A group interested in shaping Sacramento's architectural future had quite a challenge Wednesday night: discussing how to design urban infill in a city whose buildings are viewed as largely mediocre. Figuring out where to go from here is the whole point of the Design Dialogues, sponsored monthly by the Urban Design Alliance and the Sacramento chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). On Wednesday, 40 design and planning professionals, community residents and others met at the AIA offices to discuss how to move the city's structural landscape forward despite the architectural challenges of designing infill projects. The 90-minute dialogue was a give-and-take between participa

The City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services announces: You or someone you know may be interested in this new program the City is offering. Please keep in mind that this program may not be available in certain areas of the city, such as historic districts or design review areas. The City of Sacramento has recently launched its revamped Infill House Plan Program aimed to promote quality residential development on vacant lots within the City. The new and improved program - which provides pre-approved construction drawings at a reduced price, streamlined application process and reduced fees - includes recent updates to the house drawings to reduce construction costs and achiev

Given the state of the local economy, I wanted to share a press release regarding some encouraging news about The Railyards project.  Sacramento, CA – (Dec 3, 2008)  The developer of the 244-acre Sacramento Railyards project announced today that approximately 3,000 new jobs will be created in 2009 as a direct result of voter passage of Proposition 1C, the $2.8 billion Housing and Infrastructure Bond and Proposition1B, the $19.9 billion Transportation Bond as well as other local and federal infrastructure funds. The announcement comes as the Obama administration considers a federal economic recovery plan with a national infrastructure investment component and the Sacramento region copes w