Sacramento 5 years after the arena is built

[xeney]

When I moved to 18th and N in 1994, the landlord and neighbors made sure I understood that I was NOT living in "midtown," which they considered to be east of the railroad tracks. It was a few blocks from Capitol Park, right around the corner from what is now Grocery Outlet (it was Uptown Market when I lived there), and it was definitely downtown. Amusing to see the definitions change. (I would probably call that midtown now, too.)

[wburg]

Originally Posted by shelato

But I suspect what drives the construction of housing downtown is the presence of neighborhood cafes, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, the entertainment stuff, much more than say additional office buildings.

It's the other way around. The presence of housing is what drives the construction of neighborhood caves, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

For instance I really doubt that when the East End Project was built and that brought a bunch of new jobs to that neighborhood that it had any appreciable effect on housing prices in the immediate neighborhood. But I think the opening of Pizza Rock and the way several other businesses opened afterward on that street, made that neighborhood much more appealing as a destination for housing. When you ask people why they moved downtown, I am not sure a whole lot said, well the East End Project just made the neighborhood so much nicer. But you will find people who say I like living with in walking distance to bars, restaurants and cafes.

Capitol Area East End Complex

The urban customer wants to live in a neighborhood where they can walk to everything, or at least most things--and being able to walk to one's job is of high importance. So, no, it's not so much that the presence of the East End Project was such a great amenity, but people who got jobs in that set of buildings who liked walking or biking to work looked for housing within walk/bike radius. The East End mostly consolidated jobs that were previously scattered all over the city into a single site. That job density is a bonus for walkability, even if the urban design of the East End Project leaves a lot to be desired (and it's no less a dead zone after 5 PM than a lot of downtown.)

Pizza Rock became a catalyst for nearby commercial/nightclub activity, but not so much housing--how much new housing has opened, or been restored and are now charging higher rents, within 2-3 blocks of Pizza Rock since it opened? And how much within 2-3 blocks of the East End Project since it opened--and, as a result, how many new restaurants, bars and clubs in Midtown?

So far as I can tell, the term "Midtown" originally just meant the businesses along J Street, then the term caught on and people started using it over a wider area, to differentiate the residential/low-rise areas east of the central business district. I have also seen it used to describe some of the western parts of East Sacramento, although that's a judgment call of sorts.

[NickB1967]

Originally Posted by wburg

It's the other way around. The presence of housing is what drives the construction of neighborhood caves, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

THIS, coming from the man who thinks "malls make sprawl"? Get your story straight. For the record, it is the former--The housing coming first.

That said, I'm all for building as much downtown penthouse tower housing as people could possibly want, with a good grocery and sundry or mass merchandise store at the base of the tower to serve the inhabitants, yet the block of 3rd/4th/L/Capitol sits vacant still.

It is also going to have to be *affluent and luxury* housing that drives the opening of neighborhood caves, bars, restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues, *not* subsidized SRO's and glorified flophouses.

[Majin]

STOP is still going at it....

Sacramento arena opponents vow another court appeal | The Sacramento Bee

I wonder if they will still be filing appeals in 2016 as the kings playing their opening game in the new arena?

[wburg]

Actually this is the Sacramento Coalition for Shared Prosperity suit--they aren't actually opposing the arena, they are the ones looking for a community benefits agreement, like those utilized in other cities to mitigate some of the negative effects of new development.

Malls were used as development catalysts for greenfield suburban sprawl--they don't "make" sprawl but they can be used to accelerate it. If you look at local examples, places like Town & Country Village, Country Club Plaza and Center, Arden Fair Mall, Florin Mall and Sunrise Mall were all built when suburban development in their respective vicinity was still in its earliest phases--they didn't have rooftops yet, but they knew that those areas were the next ones that they wanted developed, and mall traffic became a way to promote sales of new suburban homes being built in their vicinity. Which is why people thought that downtown malls would revitalize downtowns. As it turns out, suburbs and downtowns don't work the same way.

[MyNewsLogin]

Originally Posted by wburg

Actually this is the Sacramento Coalition for Shared Prosperity suit--they aren't actually opposing the arena, they are the ones looking for a community benefits agreement, like those utilized in other cities to mitigate some of the negative effects of new development.

I was curious about the filing so I looked it up. The appeal was filed on Saltonstall et al. v. City of Sacramento, case number 34201480001840. Here is the case on the appellate court website: California Courts - Appellate Court Case Information There is nothing there yet beyond the summary and the parties.