"Yes, there will be a neon sign.."
by Rob McQuade, ABR, Sacramento REALTOR®
Sacramento CA Real Estate
"Yes, there will be a neon sign..."
-Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo speaking at the 2007 State of Downtown, on the City Council's Tuesday vote to contribute property and as much as $6.75M for redevelopment of the long-vacant Woolworth building at 10th & K downtown.
From the 2007 State of Downtown
Michael Ault, Executive Director of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, reviewed the City's recent purchase of the final piece of the 700 block of K Street and the City Council's financial support of the transformation of the 10th & K property to include a venue for the California Musical Theater and new dining from Randy Paragary.
Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson looked to the future: a new Terminal B at Sacramento Intergalactic Airport by 2011, light rail extensions, levee improvements, a ten-year plan to end homelessness in the region, and the "Share the Vision" Coalition's continuing efforts to bring an arena to the urban core.
Lloyd Harvego, Board Chair of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, touted the success--and the national recognition--of the "Navigators" program that connects homeless with services.
Mayor Heather Fargo highlighted successes--the UP Railyard transfer to Thomas Enterprises, restoration of historic Old Sac sites (the Ebner, Magnolia, and Orleans hotels), the purchase of the Crystal Cream & Butter Co. site downtown by Anthony Giannoni and partners--challenges--relocating the Greyhound Bus Station--and informally formally announced her plan to run for a third term as mayor.
"Developing Walkable Urbane Places"
The high point of the morning was the above-titled presentation by Chris Leinberger of the Brookings Institution. Once viewed as a doomsayer for his predictions about the health of cities over the past ten years, Leinberger has more recently watched his predictions prove themselves accurate.
Key concepts from the presentation:
- demand for walkable urbane places to live and work has come from empty-nesters, Gen Xers, and young people who have never seen a suburban, car-oriented lifestyle as the ideal
- a "walkable distance" is 1500-2000ft, or an area of approximately 300-400 acres--the size of a downtown area
- the "built environment" comprises 40% of the country's wealth
- walkable urbanity migrates from downtowns to downtown adjacent neighborhoods (like Midtown) to suburban town centers (like Del Paso Blvd in North Sacramento) and strip malls to greenfield developments
But what did he have to say about Sacramento?
"An arena must be built downtown--not in the adjacent railyards, but shoe-horned into downtown. Two blocks of downtown... Without subsidides... And don't add any parking."
He emphasized things that a lot of us have said: that parking is underutilized in the central city, existing parking structures could provide up to 50% more parking. He also encouraged a shift in thinking away from subsidizing development and toward "partnering", away from supporting sprawling suburban development and toward adding impact fees equivalent to the real cost of that sprawl.
The bottom line: it is our moral imperative to change the way we shape and grow our communities for the health and well-being of its people and places. ♦
» You can visit the Downtown Sacramento Partnership's website here ››.
» You can visit the Brookings Institution's website here ›› and find out more about Chris Leinberger here ››.
» As always, you can email Rob here.
Rob McQuade, ABR, Sacramento REALTOR®
McMartin Realty - Sacramento Real Estate
2031 K St Ste 100
Sacramento, CA 95814-4216
Tel (916) 444-7577 or Toll Free (866) 720-CITY (2489)
Fax (916) 444-7977
On the web at http://www.RobMcQuade.com/
Visit my blog at http://www.CentralCityGuy.com/
You can email me at Rob@RobMcQuade.com
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