As Sacramento’s skyline is re-shaped by new construction, fresh architecture and design will begin to change perceptions of the city for longtime residents, new arrivals and visitors.
Speaking Jan. 30 in his State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson outlined his vision for what he called, “Sacramento 3.0,” a city centered around innovation and entrepreneurship. Essential to this hub will be, he said, will be 10,000 new housing units in the central city, the new downtown arena, successful development of the railyards — with a possible soccer stadium and the UC Davis World Food Center — and a new streetcar line.
Besides the under-construction Kings arena, most of these structures exist only on paper. Here’s a look at a couple of the more ambitious designs on the horizon.
The Vanir Tower — Vanir Development Co. Inc. has proposed a 26-story building to hold the company’s headquarters and the headquarters for a commercial bank at 601 J St., directly across from the new arena.
Sacramento Republic FC stadium — The soccer club has signed a letter of intent to build a 20,000-seat stadium in the now-empty southeast section of the Railyards development at 7th Street and Railyards Boulevard.
Hotel development — The Sacramento Kings and their partners, including JMA Ventures, hope to start construction this spring on a $200 million, 250-room high-end hotel next to the Entertainment and Sports Center where the NBA team will play beginning in 2016. The hotel will occupy the first 11 floors of a 16-story building. Apartments and condos will fill the upper floors. Street level will include retail, restaurants and office space, as well as the hotel entrance.
What upcoming development projects have captured your interest? Take our poll and let us know.
Check back next week for Kevin McKenna’s February architecture feature, “Building a Better City.” Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll email you when it’s available online.
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Comments
We should try building our own space needle downtown too.