What happened to downtown? (Sacramento: apartments, lofts, condos)

[wandering101]

I visited Sac last week after being away for a long time and went down to the Capitol. On the way I was seeing how blighted the area had become, like all the empty buildings along "J" St. Has it been that way for a while?

[cityx]

Originally Posted by wandering101

I visited Sac last week after being away for a long time and went down to the Capitol. On the way I was seeing how blighted the area had become, like all the empty buildings along "J" St. Has it been that way for a while?

Since the mid 90s when I moved here it's been that way. There have been some improvements downtown with the dawn of the loft-housing craze and a handful of new restuarants, etc. However, that chic, 3rd world, bombed-out look on K st. still prevails. Ghetto Plaza is supposed to be getting a makeover sometime next year but we'll see if that actually materializes. I would visit farther east into midtown where there has been more of a re-birth and gentrification the past ten years.

[Phantom Hornet]

This is one of the few times I would agree with CityX. Jay St. is in the midst of reinvention. A lot of the empty buildings you see are being replaced with restaurants, clubs, and lofts. There aren't as many businesses that operate during the day. But drive down J on a Friday or Saturday night and you'll see something that didn't exist five years ago- the semblance of a vibrant nightlife.

K St is still a major blight to the city. Some projects are popping up here and there, but as a whole Fargo and the city council have dropped the ball. What they really need to do is move the light rail off K St, imho.

Here's a new project that's opening in Sept on K St.

The Cosmopolitan - Downtown Sacramento's most sophisticated dining, entertainment and social hub - under one roof.

[zen_klown]

I think the bigger problem is the lack of housing in the downtown core. The state tries to site its building near light rail moreover most agencies want to be near the Capitol. This means that in the area immediately near the Capitol, there is too much office space and not enough housing. When state workers leave, the neighborhood just empties out. If they put more housing in the area you would have more people to support the restaurants, bars and clubs at night and when you walk around, it wouldn't just be you and the winos.

[Phantom Hornet]

Downtown Sac was also about five years late on the condo craze. They had about five or six major projects on the books (Towers, Aura) in downtown that got scrapped when the housing market took a dump and steel prices took off.

[wburg]

A lot of buildings being described as "blighted" are being deliberately left vacant because the owners of the property want to demolish them and replace them with condo towers. And yes, an overabundance of office buildings and an under-supply of housing has been a problem for downtown Sacramento since the 1950s, when most of the housing nearby was demolished.

[CaliforniaPatriot]

I've been in Sacramento for two years, and have heard that it was worse downtown not too long ago. There have been many new condos and apartments built in downtown/midtown, so the area has improved. J Street has looked pretty ghetto since I got here. Moe Mohanna, who owns much of K Street has big plans for the area, but there is a lot of controversy about whether those plans will actually materialize.