Agency Will Continue Focus on Core Competencies of Affordable Housing, Community Revitalization, and Job Creation Sacramento, CA | Officials of the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) have transferred assets and debts formerly held by the Redevelopment Agency to the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento as of February 1, the date on which all redevelopment agencies in California ceased to exist under AB 1X26, the Dissolution Act. “We’re not going to pity ourselves over the unfortunate demise of redevelopment because there is still a great need for the things that redevelopment was able to accomplish,” said La Shelle Dozier, SHRA Executive Director. “We’re still h

The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to take over responsibilities for the non-housing functions of the city’s former redevelopment agency – but chose not to take over its housing assets and project management functions. The city – as “successor agency” to the now-defunct Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency – will be responsible for winding down more than $787 million of outstanding obligations over the remaining life of prior redevelopment projects, which varies by project from a few years to nearly three decades. The city Housing Authority will take over the housing assets and functions – including $81.7 million in assets and managing $80.6 million in outstanding loans r

SACRAMENTO, CA | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator Ophelia Basgal joined Congresswoman Doris Matsui in Sacramento announced on January 10 that Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency will receive a $300,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant. Sacramento is one of 13 cities nationwide receiving this funding to begin grassroots efforts to revitalize the Twin Rivers Community Housing, a distressed public housing development at 321 Eliza Street, and transform the Sacramento River District-Railyards neighborhood. “All across the country, local planners are serious about rolling up their sleeves to transform distressed neighborhoods into choice n

  SACRAMENTO, CA | For the first time in its history, the Housing Authority of the City of Sacramento has received a High Performer designation on the Public Housing Assessment System Score Report from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Housing Authority received a PHAS total score of 90 out of 100. The assessment period covered the fiscal year ending December 31, 2010. “This is a great accomplishment for the Housing Authority,” said La Shelle Dozier, Executive Director of Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, a Joint Powers Agency which includes the Housing Authority. “We redoubled our efforts to improve our performance in all of the scoring categories and

In what has been called a David versus Goliath victory, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to disband redevelopment agencies in California, and opponents of redevelopment in Sacramento wasted no time to celebrate the success. “After years of opposition to redevelopment activities, the abuse of government power and confiscation of property for private use, our day finally came,” Moe Mohanna, a local real estate developer, said Tuesday. The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday to uphold the redevelopment “elimination” bill, but struck down the bill that would have allowed agencies to make “continuation payments” to stay in business. The two

Sacramento City Council members had their hands full this year – from balancing the budget to redrawing district lines to a citizen uprising that found its way to the doors of City Hall. Here’s the city government year in review. CITY MANAGER DRAMA The year started off with interim city manager Gus Vina not being promoted to the open city manager spot. Vina replaced previous city manager Ray Kerrige when Kerrige resigned in February 2010. Vina resigned two months later – just a few weeks before the budget was due to the City Council. He later became the city manager of Encinitas. The City Council was criticized for making decisions about the city manager position in closed sessions bef

Sacramento, CA | The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency is a recipient of a $150,000 Community Challenge Planning Grant from the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. The Agency will administer the grant on behalf of the Housing Authority of the County of Sacramento and is one of only two grantees in the state of California. The highly competitive 2011 Sustainable Communities grants totaled $97 million. Only 27 communities and organizations will receive the Community Challenge grants. The goal of the Sustainable Communities grants is to help communities improve their economic competitiveness by connect

It’s as if the ghosts of all those who have traveled through these halls before us can still be heard... I find myself yet again walking through empty rooms that echo not only my footsteps, but the seeming sounds of the past The Sacramento Valley Station finds itself as a hub of transportation for the Sacramento area. Currently serving as an intermodal complex, the facility includes Amtrak, light rail, regional bus services and taxi amenities. The public portions of the building are those that many are familiar with such as the main hall, or passenger waiting area, where customers purchase tickets or pass through to the facilities outside to the north. Outside are the bus berths, passeng

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, The Sacramento Press profiled the alleys in the central city that were formally named on Oct. 11 by an ordinance approved by the City Council. Below is the final installment of the new alley names. Rice Alley Curt Pow, the 36-year-old owner of Elixir Bar and Grill, has his business situated on the corner of Rice Alley and 10th Street. “I’m okay with Rice Alley,” he said, adding that the Asian theme fits into much of the area’s culture. While Pow said that he believes the names won’t directly help his business, he doesn’t think they will hurt it, either. “What our area needs right now is retail business,” he said. “The city should allocate more effo

On Oct. 11, the City Council approved an ordinance that officially named the alleys of the central city. On Tuesday and Wednesday, The Sacramento Press highlighted many of these alleys, including their new names and what residents and business owners think of them. More alleyways are included below. Leistal Alley Cohn said Leistal Alley is an alley that the city has put resources into renovating. With a lighted walkway and an upscale pavement job, co-owner of Old Soul Coffee Jason Griest said he hopes that all of the other alleys will soon be similarly renovated. “We see a lot more foot traffic in the alley now that they’ve renovated it,” the 36-year-old Midtown resident said. Griest

On Oct. 11, Steve Cohn’s 5-year-old idea to give the alleys of Sacramento their own formal names was finalized, giving them what many residents describe as a new sense of character. In a continuation of Tuesday’s article, The Sacramento Press has highlighted many local businesses along the alleys and spoke to residents regarding their thoughts on the alleys’ new names. Fat Alley Khalid Khan’s liquor store, called Don’s Bottle Shop, is located on Fat Alley and 16th Street. Khan, 60, said that naming the alleys won’t do his business any good. “I don’t have control over what (the city) wants to do,” he said. He emphasized that the city should be more focused on finding more direct ways

After initially being proposed five years ago, City Councilman Steve Cohn’s idea to name Sacramento alleys has finally been put into action. On Oct.11, the City Council approved a list of new names for the alleys. Cohn said that the alleys need names to help residents identify them more easily. “Instead of saying ‘the alley between L and Capitol,’ you could just say the name of the alley,” he said. The process for naming the alleys took so long, Cohn said, because it is very complicated.   What do you think of the alley names?   “It took a while because we had to do a lot of outreach,” he said. "It's part of the rules and regulations for naming streets." Cohn said that approva

Gang violence took what officials described as a drastic drop since July 2010, attributing the drop to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang-prevention programs initiated in June of 2010 and again after last December’s fatal barbershop shooting. Since implementing some of the measures, Lt. Bill Champion of the Sacramento Police Department said that the results have been effective. The number of gang-related firearm assaults has dropped by 60 percent, and the overall rate fell by 39 percent. In addition, there has been a 75 percent drop in homicide rates, and a 100 percent drop in non-fatal shootings. Community leaders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to discuss the mayor’s plan. Speakers, inc

Kim Mack said she decided to run for City Council District 2 because she saw a need that hasn’t been filled in her North Sacramento community: responsive leadership. That isn’t necessarily a dig at the current council member for the district, Mack said Tuesday – it’s a statement of purpose. Mack, 49, has a long career in government service under her belt, including campaign experience as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign where she was responsible for campaign activities from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. Mack also worked on local campaigns including Ami Bera's recent run for the 3rd Congressional District and Richard Pan’s successful run for Assembly.

Nearly 300 people arrived at Arden Mall’s Market Square at 7:30 a.m. dressed in their business suits and slippers. They had come to enjoy a plethora of breakfast cereals for the seventh annual Suits and Slippers event hosted by the Roberts Family Development Center. Guests were provided with bowls of cereal along with Starbucks coffee, muffins, bananas, yogurt and orange juice. People marvelled over creative cereal sculptures and enjoyed their breakfasts as Derrell Roberts, co-founder and CEO of the RFDC, mingled with the crowd. “It’s made people think of the center as a place for kids to grow,” Roberts said, referring to how the event has impacted the RFDC. Roberts said that the RFDC p

The massive redevelopment project on the 700 block of K Street will be submitted to the city’s building department for approval in October, and if approved, work could begin as early as the end of this year. “We’re looking to break ground in (February or March) of 2012, but it might be sooner,” said Ali Youssefi of CFY Development. The approximately $47.7 million project is a collaboration between D&S Development, Inc., and CFY Development. It will be a mixed-use project with apartments, retail spaces, restaurant/bar spaces and an approximately 15,000-square-foot live music venue. “We really want this to be a catalyst for the rest of the area,” said Bay Miry of D&S Development. For mor

At first glance, it seems that the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency may be writing some big checks over the next few months – an estimated $111 million – but the payment schedule going before City Council Tuesday is not as simple as it appears. In a recent case challenging new state redevelopment laws, the California Supreme court directed all redevelopment agencies to compile a list of their financial obligations along with a schedule for making payments and submit them to the state. The payment schedules, called Enforceable Obligation Payment Schedules (EOPS), totals up the “relative obligations” of redevelopment projects and outlines a payment schedule through the end of th

With three weeks until the historic Maydestone apartment building opens for an art show downtown, the fences have come down, the façade has been painted and several units have been staged as residences even as final work is completed. The $7 million affordable housing project at the corner of 15th and J streets received $6.1 million in loans from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency. Presentation Development, LLC – set up by D&S Development, Inc. – contributed $900,000, according to Bay Miry of D&S Development. “We’re trying to design it more like a European residential unit,” Miry said. “(Europeans) like to live where there’s a lot of interaction with people, and they don’t

With nearly $450 million invested in development projects so far, the River District is moving ever closer to realizing its potential for being a valuable transit, business and community hub for the Sacramento region. Business leaders, City Council members and members of the River District association gathered Thursday to hear the latest progress report on development efforts for 750 acres along a 2.5-mile stretch of riverfront that is currently residence to industrial, retail and office uses and about 400 homes. The event, hosted by the River District board of directors and attended by more than 80 people, was an opportunity to learn about recently completed development projects and get

A new children’s hospital, a high-tech business center and a television-film-video game industry complex were some of the ideas Natomas residents discussed Thursday as potential re-uses for the current arena site – if the arena is relocated. More than 80 residents and business owners met at a town hall meeting hosted by Assemblyman Dr. Richard Pan and City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby for an hour-long discussion and question-and-answer session about the arena’s future. Attendees expressed ideas and concerns about what the city should do with what has been a hub of sports and entertainment activity for more than 20 years. Power Balance Pavillion (formerly Arco Arena) has been home to the