Well, here we go again, the latest in K Street Dream On’s are reported in the Sacramento Press, and everyone who has followed this issue over the past several years, knows that the inability of the city to provide basic public safety/order in the downtown area, lies at the heart of the continued failure to reawaken K Street.
That being said, we hope that this latest effort is joined with a vigorous public safety/order component, and leads to eventual success.
An excerpt.
“Redevelopment projects for the 700 and 800 blocks of K Street cleared a final hurdle on their way to the Sacramento City Council when the city's Preservation Commission approved both Thursday night.
“The commission called a special meeting to consider the final major design components after both projects were approved by the Planning Commission last week. A City Council vote of approval, which will be set for sometime in June, would mean groundbreaking could finally begin on two key blocks of K Street Mall that have long been eyesores.
“The projects will add 337 mixed-income apartments in the downtown core, rehab the landmark Bel-Vue Apartments and restore all but one of the building façades on the south side of the 700 block of K Street. The projects were both approved unanimously by the five commissioners present.
“Activists in the city's preservation and housing communities have worked long and hard for housing and historic preservation there. The community raised an outcry over a previous project that proposed tearing down the Bel-Vue, recalled Preservation Commission Chair Karen Jacques.
"Finally, we are going to see some really nice development on both the 700 and the 800 blocks of K Street. That's a huge boost for this city," she said. "Those two blocks have been a disaster for so long. With these projects, the historic buildings are getting saved."
“The special meeting was held Thursday, rather than waiting for the commission's next scheduled meeting in June, to get the projects to the council as soon as possible. The projects may qualify for redevelopment funding that is at risk of being lost if Gov. Jerry Brown abolishes redevelopment agencies to help solve the state's budget woes.
“No one is certain when that might happen. Some officials and developers fear it could be as soon as June 30.”
