Another Nice Addition to the R St Corridor (Sacramento, Alhambra: 2013, apartments)

[NewToCA]

Planned renovations at the SW corner of 15th and R St. Should be a good addition to this area and help R St move along:


'Cool' conversion to restaurants, shops set for midtown Sacramento office building - Business - The Sacramento Bee

[Curmudgeon]

Outstanding! Glad the corridor hasn't been lost in the downturn shuffle. Can't wait to see what eventually becomes of the old icehouse but imagine that will take awhile.

[wburg]

The R Street corridor is bouncing along quite nicely over the past few years--that's right across the street from a block of interesting stuff--the Shady Lady, Burgers & Brew, Ace of Spades--and a dozen second-story lofts. The CADA Lofts project is on track, both the big warehouse on R and 11th and the two-story building on the corner next to it are getting ready for rehab--apartments in the big building, retail/office on the corner, and a parking garage with apartments on the street frontage in the vacant lot east of the warehouse. Over the past year or two a "streetscape improvement" plan on R Street from 10th to 13th have made those blocks a lot more pleasant to stroll, with sidewalks, water drainage and a series of metal sculptures that can also be used as bike racks. They also made dramatic improvements to street lighting--it's far better lit at night, and thus has become the pedestrian route of choice, vs. the darker residential streets to the south.

The Crystal Ice plant has gone through different iterations--the owner originally planned to turn it into a mixed mid-rise/commercial building but the current plan is to put in a grocery retailer.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by wburg

The Crystal Ice plant has gone through different iterations--the owner originally planned to turn it into a mixed mid-rise/commercial building but the current plan is to put in a grocery retailer.

More good news. Interesting thought about Cystal being as close to Safeway as it is.

[ryuns]

I read recently about the progress on the R and 11th development: Burgers & Brew owner plans new restaurant downtown - Sacramento Business Journal

One interesting note in the Sac Bee article about the R and 15th development was that Trader Joe's has been eyeing a spot in that building but decided against it. I think a Trader Joe's would go over really well. It's not a direct competitor to Safeway, and even with Safeway, there aren't many other grocery options on the grid or immediately south. (The next closest grocery store is for Land Park/Curtis Park is currently the Sprouts at Land Park Dr and Sutterville.). The Folsom Blvd Trader Joe's is a gigantic CF of terrible parking and poor ped/bike access. I can't think of any TJ stores in renovated, historic buildings though. And even though they'd get a lot of ped/bike's coming through a grid location, they'd still need quite a bit of parking and good access, as the Folsom location seems to prove.

[wburg]

I'm not so sure it wouldn't be a competitor to Safeway--and I'm pretty sure it would be a competitor for the Co-Op, just a mile east, and the Midtown Grocery Outlet, six blocks away, plus there is another Safeway on Alhambra and K. The real need for a grocery store is the northern half of the central city--sadly, a developer knocked down the Crystal Dairy buildings along C Street that would have been ideal for that sort of thing. Maybe one of the Railyards buildings?

The R Street location is a very different ballgame from East Sacramento. Proximity to light rail is a lot closer (the 48th Street light rail station is a few blocks away, vs. 1 block away) and Midtown has a higher population density, plus a better-established bike culture. There is also access all around the building, vs. the East Sac Trader Joe's lot which is kind of hedged in on either side except for a narrow alley. Crystal Ice already has a loading dock on the alley, and the current streetscape plan for R Street includes parallel parking in front of the loading dock (and a very nice, tree-shaded ped/bike corridor.) I suppose they could always lease the half-block vacant lot across R Street if they wanted to expand a parking lot, but big parking lots in Midtown are a crime, something to be avoided at all costs, and not required by code anymore (the new parking regs drop required parking a great deal.)

[ryuns]

Yeah, a competitor, to be sure, but certainly a different kind of grocery store that would attract a big audience. We, maybe once a month, go to the TJ's on Folsom just to stock up on their unique items like some of their frozen foods, certain beers (their annual TJ Vintage Ale is a classic) and Two Buck Chuck.

But as long as we're telling them how to do business, you're right that a TJ's or ANYTHING for that matter would fit well in North Downtown. That Crystal lot is extended walking distance from a lot of downtown workers, who might hit it up for a quick errand or lunch too. It actually seems like a natural fit for the "questionable future" Fresh and Easy chain that has mid-market appeal but also does well with low-income folks. Maybe once Township 9 and the Railyards see some residents, that will change.