Mayor Kevin Johnson’s volunteer task force on Thursday continued its second session of challenging proposals presented by prospective developers of a new arena in Sacramento. The 12-member task force heard presentations from Thomas Enterprises, the Kamilos Group, Natomas ESC Partners and Tripp Development. The prospective developers explained their financing plans, among other issues. Task force member Mike Kvarme asked how much of Thomas Enterprises’ project financing would rely on obtaining federal funding. “It’s a large part of it,” said Suheil Totah, vice president of Thomas Enterprises. Totah also commented on the site’s location at the railyards in Downtown. Thomas Enterprises is

Westfield Downtown Plaza and a citizens' group lost legal challenges against the Railyards development, developer Thomas Enterprises and the city announced Monday. The lawsuits against the city of Sacramento, the city's Redevelopment Agency and developer Thomas Enterprises argued that the poject's two environmental impact reports (EIRs) were inadequate and did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act known as CEQA. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly ruled in favor of the city and developer on all points raised by the Downtown Plaza and three people represented by attorney Bill Kopper. Those individuals — Robert Castro Jr., Linda Powers and Chris Rich —

Piles are growing at the city's old railyard. Inside the long-abandoned Southern Pacific railroad shops, there are piles of metal, wood, debris and contaminated junk. Up on roofs, white-suited, specially trained abatement workers are pulling up roofing material and roofing adhesive containing asbestos. Outside one of the shops lies a makeshift salvage yard. Georgia developer Thomas Enterprises and a contractor, Allied Environmental of Placerville, are three months into a $5 million cleanup of the historic "Central Shops," which will form the centerpiece of a 244-acre mixed-used district dubbed the Railyards. The developers envision the shops as the cultural heart of a district that will

Cleanup of historic Southern Pacific railroad shops is expected to begin late this month as the next phase of the Sacramento Railyards project kicks into gear. Hazardous materials including lead paint, asbestos, metals and other industrial toxins need to be removed from the shops, which were built starting in 1868. Georgia developer Thomas Enterprises has put the abatement project out to bid and expects to award the contract in the next few weeks, said Richard Rich, development director for the Railyards project. In its heyday, Southern Pacific practically owned the town. The railyards drove Sacramento's economy, and nearly a third of all the city's residents worked there. The shops lay