Major developer in Del Paso retrenching, and people wisely stay away from K Street, unless they have to be there.
Bob Shallit: In slow market, builder departs
Bob Shallit - bshallit@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, October 31, 2007
When times get tough, the tough ... take a sabbatical.
That's the philosophy of developer Martin Tuttle, who is temporarily leaving his VP post with Sacramento builder New Faze Development.
He'll be moving to the Dominican Republic, where his wife, former Bee reporter Pamela Martineau, has secured a job teaching American literature through June.
"It's going to be a family adventure," says Tuttle, former executive director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). "I'll see how I like being Mr. Mom (to the couple's two children) and how I like the golf courses."
Tuttle says his wife's job offer came at the right time – just as the tough housing market forced New Faze to reduce its staff by about one-third, through layoffs and attrition.
"We're tightening up," he says of the Del Paso Boulevard firm, which has cut back from 35 to 25 employees. "Hopefully we'll be in good shape when the market comes back."
Your say on K: Most of you avoid that stretch of K Street.
At least that's our conclusion from a highly unscientific poll we ran in Saturday's column, asking readers to characterize their comfort level with K Street's rundown blocks.
War zone? Hardly. Only a few of the 33 individuals who responded agreed with that label.
But almost two-thirds of respondents said they avoided the area because of panhandling, dope dealing and unpleasant smells.
A typical response came from reader Bill Schaaf: "I leave my body armor at home but keep a sharp eye out for trouble."
Others, though, indicated they believe the area is about to improve, and some suggested that K Street gets a bad rap.
"Yes, there are many panhandlers and mentally ill individuals," said Paul Golaszewski, who moved here from North Carolina two months ago. But, he added, it's no different from "the downtown area of every major city."
