CentralCityDigsBlog

uh oh

bank-owned home whose copper was targeted.

------------- Stephanie Baker From the field BY TREO

Sacramento's Rental inspections

Today's Business Journal:

Sacramento is ready to enact its first citywide inspection program for apartment units more than five years old, with an annual fee set at $28 per unit that would generate close to $10 million over the next five years -- enough to fund the new program.

I think rental inspections are a great thing.  Having lived in roach-infested properties whose management ignored our requests for assistance, I think the $28/unit is a good way for owners to assert that they're participating in making lives better. 

What do you think?

OPEN HOUSE - Sunday 2/24/08

Stop by Sunday 2/24  between 1 & 4 p.m. to view this historic, 1890 Highwater Bungalow.

Located: 2404 L Street - Sacramento 95816

Listed by Coldwell Banker -

View more details at  CentralCityDigs.com or

at my corporate website

Campaign 2008: Donations in 95816 (Sacramento)

OK, it's interesting to me to learn who gives politcally in what neighborhoods.  Midtown's 95816 zip code is very blue: $50,757- to Democrats, $8567 to Republicans.

Check out Fundrace.....Find your neighbors' giving!

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=loc&zip=95816&zoom=14&g_lon=-121.46587371826172&g_lat=38.57239413480513&highlight=1395909

Sutter General Hospital Open Midtown Garage

The Business Journal is reporting that the Sutter General new parking garage - which may I add is GORGEOUS and feels very neighborhood-y to me - is OPEN! 

Part of Sutter Medical Center Sacramento's $600 million development project, the 324,000-square-foot garage is for hospital and public use. Parking will be free to the public until March 14. The garage includes 1,103 standard, compact and handicapped parking spaces on nine parking levels.

Anyone who appreciates The Monkey Bar and Bernardo's as I do, knows that finding parking has been a bear since construction started.  WAHOO!  Time for a Cafe Bernardo's yummy chicken pizza!

Sacramento's Foreclosures

The Sacramento Business Journal's Opinion referenced the following interesting stat:

"Sacramento had the natin's fifth-highest foreclsoure rate at 3.2 percent in 2007, while Stockton topped the list, according to RealtyTrac report released Wednesday.. . . . almost 50percent of the home sales in December were bank-owned properties in the Sacramento region"

The Fab 40s - East Sacramento

Elegant homes. A tree canopy that just doesn't quit.  Convenience to downtown Sacramento and Midtown's amazing restaurants.  Great holiday traditions.  And homes are staying on the market longer.  The desire to live in the neighborhood is still high, but prices are being affected due to long listing times.  Have you seen the 45th Street brick home?  AMAZING.

Location. Location.Location

Does location matter? YOU BET!

Midtown Sacramento is great. Great trees, great services, walkable, bike friendly. But it has lots of human-made boundaries that can reduce a home's desirability.

Like..... the highways that border the eastern and southern borders? While I've always heard elevated freeways are better than the underground (like Hwy 50 near 50th-59th Streets) Hypothetically, a house on the corner of a 20s Street home & the "W-X" freeway is beautiful and amazing. But if bedrooms are on the freeway side and it's one-way to get in the driveway, that's tough!

...........or the train tracks. Urban life includes rumbles when you live on 19th or 20th Streets, or along B Street.

...........or a bar. Sure, you like to drink there on weekends. But every bar I know is open 7 days a week. So that one night you take off can mean no sleep for you!

.........or a busy one-way street. Some of our arterial streets have serious daily traffic. But if it's only once a day, maybe that's not so bad.

Fortunately, Midtown Sacramento is laden with many positives which may make the above forgettable. And, at least you'll be reaping the benefits of proximity.

The Railyards: Downtown Sacramento's new homes

The Sacramento Business Journal referenced the City of Sacramento's continued work on the new homes planned for the area by the American River, north of the Railyard and Richards Boulevard. 

View Larger Map

There are two planned developers: Thomas Enterprises is planning The Railyards (considered the largest infill project in the nation) and Township 9.

The article references that they're vying for State transit-oriented and infill funds. Here's what else I learned:

• Township 9 calls itself "shovel ready"=
• Township 9 is planning to build 3000 (!) homes on 65 acres
• Township 9 doesn't have a planned lightrail station until 2010
• Township 9 wants to "widen 7th Street and create Riverfront Drive, a winding road along the river that would run alonside a park and ampitheater."

The Railyards is to build about 12,000 homes (holy guacamole!)

From the article:

The Railyards' mix is more likely to find success than Township 9's housing-centric approach. In addition to about 12,000 homes, Thomas Enterprises plans shops, office buildings and an entertainment district that would include the California State Railroad Museum. "We don't believe there is a market for housing in industrial or blighted areas right now," he said. "You have to create a 'place' first."

The roadways proposed within The Railyards would relieve highway congestion and allow alternate routes into downtown, and state funds would jump-start construction of the planned 5th Street extension and Railyards Boulevard, Totah said.

My biggest concern about both of these projects is, will it look like Natomas? Is it going to be ticky-tacky, cookie cutter homes in non-walkable communities??? Is it going to be the dreaded spray-on, every-California-suburb-has-it stucco, faux-Spanish-style home??? Are they going to be poorly built??

Are they going to preserve the river?? I HOPE SO!

Sutter General Hospital: Expansion

Located in Midtown, Sutter General Hospital's changes are huge. Interestingly, they've progressed with such little neighborhood conflict (so unlike Mercy!!), I've heard very little about their plans.  Looking at their website, there's some great resources - a time lapse construction view, a live medical campus construction camera , artistic plans (like the one below) that show what is, essentially, a campus!  It's very very cool. 

Construction images: http://sutterhealth.oxblue.com/smcsacramento/

Expansion plans: http://suttermedicalcenter.org/expansion/index.html