New Sacramento Railyards Project Manager Fran Lee Halbakken said she became a civil engineer because she loves solving problems. Halbakken is now tackling challenges with one of the city's and country's largest redevelopment projects after starting in her new role June 27. At nearly 240 acres of combined private and city land, the railyards project is so big it will virtually double the size of the central business district. The key position was created at a critical stage of the massive undertaking. The private portion of the site has a new owner and the projects’ housing plan must be revised in light of the recession. Also, plans for a new regional transit center must be coordinated wi

The next stage of growth for Sacramento's historic railyards should continue to connect the site with surrounding areas, allowing for smaller-scale development of neighborhoods linked by public transit and an open-space network, urban development experts said Friday at City Hall. An eight-person panel of development and design experts presented recommendations for downtown railyards development to the city. They were brought to Sacramento through a fellowship program sponsored by the Urban Land Institute's Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use. The panelists spent three days working in Sacramento and touring the railyards before making the recommendations. The city and th

Sacramento transportation officials on Wednesday rebid the city's downtown railroad track relocation project. Tracks that are part of a major trade route must be moved 500 feet north of their existing location at Sacramento Valley Station, Fifth and I streets, and straightened to allow for longer freight trains. That will enable a larger volume of trains to move through Sacramento and to do so more quickly. The project will also separate currently shared freight and passenger tracks to increase safety while still allowing freight trains to move at higher speeds. Four new tracks – two devoted to passenger trains and two for freight – will be built. Passenger platforms, separate tunnels f

The new downtown railyards owner has consented to cover a $3.2 million debt owed to the city for a key parcel of land, a company spokesman said Thursday. Inland American Real Estate Trust agreed to reimburse the city for the amount taxpayers overpaid the railyards' former owner, developer Thomas Enterprises, for nearly 33 acres of land next to the historic train depot: $2.65 million plus interest, said Inland spokesman Jared Ficker of California Strategies, a public affairs company. Last spring, a court arbitrator ended more than three years of dispute between the city and Thomas by setting the value for the land at $52.35 million, significantly less than the $55 million the city paid in

The new owner of the downtown railyards development site on Tuesday night disclosed plans to move slowly on the property. A consultant for the suburban Chicago real estate investment firm, Inland American Real Estate Trust, said the company has "no immediate plans" to change the land use plan the Sacramento City Council approved for the country's largest infill project under its previous owner, Thomas Enterprises. In 2011, Inland will concentrate on continuing infrastructure projects including bridge construction and railroad track relocation – the "critical building block" for further development, said Inland spokesman Jared Ficker of California Strategies, a public affairs company. "W

A team handpicked by Mayor Kevin Johnson and led by Sacramento developer David Taylor and national sports facility builders has emerged as one of the frontrunners to develop a new arena. Taylor quietly ended his partnership with developer Gerry Kamilos after their first proposal, a complicated land swap, didn't produce a viable proposal by its October deadline. Taylor is now partnering with the historic railyards' new owner, Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, and others. On Thursday, his group submitted a letter of interest to Johnson's arena task force briefly outlining a proposed process for developing a sports and entertainment center. Another three teams submitted new or modified

Development in Sacramento suffered some significant setbacks in 2010. But there were modest moves forward as well, making for a mixed picture heading into 2011. The focus was on five major projects, which included: 1. The Railyards A suburban Chicago real estate investment firm, the Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, took ownership of most of Sacramento's historic downtown railyards in a courthouse foreclosure auction held in October. Inland foreclosed on the 203-acre Railyards site after then-owner Thomas Enterprises defaulted on nearly $194 million in loans in June. The two sides had been negotiating on a loan extension for several months but failed to agree on terms. Since October

The railyards' new owner won't make its first presentation to the Sacramento City Council Tuesday night. The site update has been postponed until after the holidays. City staff withdrew the item from the council agenda Tuesday morning under agreement with the Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, a suburban Chicago real estate investment firm that foreclosed on the defaulted property in October, said Assistant City Manager John Dangberg. Thomas Enterprises was developing the site as the Railyards, but defaulted on loans from Inland in June. Inland's railyards project team felt it needed a couple more weeks to understand issues and flesh out the presentation. "We mutually agreed that i

The new owner of the historic railyards will roughly outline plans for the site Tuesday. Representatives for the Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, a Chicago-area real estate investment firm, are scheduled to appear before the Sacramento City Council for the first time since taking over the defaulted property Oct. 22. They will briefly discuss their approach to the project and what may be the focus in the future, as well as give a quick update on infrastructure work taken over from Thomas Enterprises and other issues they're focusing on in the transition, said Assistant City Manager John Dangberg. "I think they've gotten their bearings and just want to share with the public where th

The two city-funded bridges under construction in the railyards are scheduled to be completed next month. The bridges will make Fifth and Sixth streets continuous where they are currently cut off by the railyards just east of the Amtrak station downtown. “The bridges will be for both vehicle traffic and pedestrians,” said Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Department of Transportation. The transition of much of the railyards property from Thomas Enterprises to Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. following Thomas Enterprises’ defaulting on loans will not affect the bridge construction, since they are on city-owned land, according to Tucker. When it comes to the track reali

Mayor Kevin Johnson's arena task force resumed its work to get a new facility built in Sacramento Thursday – minus two members who've now thrown their expertise behind a runner-up proposal. At the same time, the task force is opening the process to more developers after its top choice – a complicated three-way land swap submitted by developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor – didn't pan out. The task force is accepting new proposals as well as updated versions from the first round of proposals submitted last December. The public is expected to get its first look at the contenders in early January, the group said Thursday in a press release. In a surprise move, two task force members dec

Mayor Kevin Johnson is reassembling his arena task force next week to consider next steps in the effort to get a new arena built in Sacramento. Mayoral Special Assistant R.E. Graswich and other staff from the mayor's office expect to meet Nov. 18 with at least 10 members of the original Sacramento First Task Force. Details for the private meeting at City Hall were still being finalized Wednesday. Graswich will update the task force on the status of a proposal from their chosen developer, Sacramento Convergence Holding LLC, led by Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor. The developers’ exclusive negotiating period with the city ended late last month after they were unable to produce a viable plan

A Chicago-area real estate investment company took possession of most of downtown Sacramento's historic railyards Friday in a courthouse auction after no one else bid. The company, Inland American Real Estate Trust, officially foreclosed on Thomas Enterprises' 203-acre Railyards site by winning the auction outside the Sacramento County courthouse Friday afternoon. Inland had set the opening bid at $50,350,000 in an off-site process earlier this week. "Inland will now roll up its sleeves and work with the city, state of California and other agencies to allow the project to proceed," Inland representative Jared Ficker said just minutes after the auction. Inland will work with the city, st

Sacramento has probably never seen a foreclosure auction like the one that may take place here Friday. The 203-acre Railyards property is scheduled to be sold for cash on the spot to the highest bidder on the Sacramento County courthouse steps at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Poised for the auction block: Most of the historic former Southern Pacific railyards, where railroad shops more than a century old mark one end of the first transcontinental railroad. Adjacent to downtown, the site's been approved for a $6 billion mixed-use project reported to be the country's largest infill development. Current plans call for a regional transportation center to be built there, along with housing, office, reta

Railyards developer Thomas Enterprises moved closer to surrendering the downtown Sacramento property in a foreclosure auction after a notice of the sale was filed Tuesday. Infrastructure work continued Thursday, after a public sale to the highest bidder was set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 22 on the steps of the Sacramento County courthouse, 720 Ninth St., according to a notice of trustee's sale. A copy of the notice filed by Stewart Default Services on behalf of Thomas' primary lender, Chicago-area Inland American Real Estate Trust, was posted at the property’s front gate. The two sides have been trying to negotiate an agreement to avoid a foreclosure even before Inland filed a notice of default

By: Stan Thomas       Thomas Enterprises, Inc. When Thomas Enterprises first got involved in the Railyards in 2002, it was a massive toxic wasteland, fenced off with hazardous-waste signs with abandoned buildings and no infrastructure or zoning. The site had been isolated from the City for 150 years with numerous failed efforts to redevelop the site over decades. I poured tens of millions of dollars of my own money into this site before the purchase was even realized, all at significant risk. When the acquisition stalled due to toxics, many including the Bee, called for us to move aside and allow other developers to step in. We remained determined and closed the transaction in December of

The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved a $290,000 redesign of the downtown railroad track relocation. Work on the $68 million railroad track relocation project was delayed after bids came in $12 million over budget in May and developer Thomas Enterprises defaulted in June on more than $187 million in private loans, used to buy the 244-acre historic railyards in 2006. The project, which includes construction of the Fifth and Sixth street bridges, makes up the first phase of the new regional transportation center to be built adjacent to the Sacramento Valley Station downtown. The council approved funding to redesign the track relocation portion of the project, budgeted at $45 mil

No decision has been made on the future of Thomas Enterprises’ involvement in the Railyards development project. Officials from the California Department of Housing and Community Development met Monday with the city of Sacramento and Inland American Real Estate Trust to discuss the future of the project. “We discussed how to keep the TOD funds flowing so that (the) City does not jeopardize the Federal Stimulus funding for the track relocation (5th Street Bridge) and to keep the construction jobs going,” Panorea Avdis, director of external affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development, wrote in an e-mail. “No recommendations or decisions can be made at this t

Thomas Enterprises is expected to inform state officials next week whether the company is close to heading off foreclosure on the downtown Railyards development. The Georgia developer missed the state's deadline Monday to bring more than $187 million in private loans back into good standing and end the foreclosure process initiated by Chicago-area lender Inland American Real Estate Trust in June. The California Department of Housing and Community Development, which last month froze Thomas' access to $30 million in state funding for the development, agreed on Monday to give the two sides a few more days and postponed further action. The 244-acre infill project could be in danger of losing

Thomas Enterprises' problems with financing the Railyards development have reached a critical point after the state of California began efforts to yank more than $70 million in funding from the project. The California Department of Housing and Community Development has put the Georgia developer on notice that it's freezing disbursements because Thomas is in default on more than $187 million in private loans on the 244-acre project.  The state agency sent out a letter July 22 warning Thomas to pay the amount in arrears in order to bring the loans back into good standing and get the lender, Inland American Real Estate Trust of suburban Chicago, to end foreclosure actions within 30 days. T