A real wow project; condos in Old Town in a very cool building.
Bob Shallit: Condo project seeks to bring new cachet to Old Sacramento
By Bob Shallit - Bee Columnist Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, November 11, 2006
Condo mania is in full swing in downtown and midtown. Now add Old Sacramento to the mix.
A local development group is converting the historic Mechanics' Exchange Building -- at 120 I St. across from the State Railroad Museum -- into a condo project with nine living units, ranging from 500 to 1,200 square feet. The price range: $300,000 to $700,000.
The building dates back to the 1860s and was a brothel, a bank for railroad workers and, more recently, a hip-hop night club.
Condo buyers will "be owning a piece of history," says Steve Lebastchi, a partner in D&S Development, which bought the building in 2003. The rehab job began earlier this year and should be completed by March.
Is there much demand for condos in a tourist-drawing business district?
Lebastchi, whose group remodeled the Sheepherder Inn in Rancho Cordova and recently built -- and sold out -- an eight-unit condo project at 20th and H streets, has no doubt.
"There's great night life (in Old Sac); you're right next to the river and, when you walk out in the morning, it's really peaceful," he says.
Besides, he and his partners are promising "high-end everything" in their so-called "iLofts" -- top-quality appliances, Poggenpohl kitchen cabinets, marble flooring and oversized Jacuzzi tubs, along with standard "loft" features like high ceilings and exposed brick and concrete.
Additional selling points: an enclosed courtyard with views of the Tower Bridge and West Sac's ziggurat building. A couple of eateries -- possibly a Starbucks and a sandwich shop -- are planned for the building's first floor.
"People are knocking on the door to buy units and we haven't even advertised yet," Lebastchi says.
One of Lebastchi's associates, Bay Miri, says the project could reshape perceptions of a district often ignored (and sometimes scorned) by locals.
"It could be the catalyst," he says, "to change Old Sacramento."
