New renderings have been published of the proposed townhomes for the redevelopment of the former Sac Bee offices in Midtown, Sacramento. While a five-story apartment block is expected to replace the main offices, an adjacent parking lot at 1801 21st Street will be replaced by 48 townhomes. Shopoff Realty Investments is the project developer.
1801 21st Street site map, illustration by TCA Architects
The three-story infill will yield 105,100 square feet of residential floor area across eight six-plexes, with unit sizes varying from 2,090 to 2,450 square feet. Parking will be included for 149 cars, with 96 within two-car garages and 53 of surface parking. TAIT & Associates is consulting on civil engineering.
TCA Architects is responsible for the design. The infill is a familiar townhome style multiplex with three distinct exterior materials separated by bay windows. Facade materials will include stucco, composite horizontal siding, and ground-level brick veneer. Four interior streets will connect residents to R Street, while open landscaping will provide a buffer between the townhomes and the site. HELIX is the landscape architect.
1801 21st Street townhomes pedestrian view, rendering by TCA Architects
1801 21st Street townhomes floor plans for levels one and two, illustration by TCA Architects
As previously shared in our story about the apartments, the Sacramento Bee was founded in the state capitol in 1857 by James McClatchy. McClatchy has since firmed an eponymous company. Sac Bee filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 and was later acquired by a New Jersey-based hedge fund. During this process, the company sold 2100 Q Street to Shopoff for $51 million, according to the Sac Bee. The newspaper remains active at a new location in Sacramento and is still the largest paper in Sacramento and one of the largest in the State.
1801 21st Street townhomes area context, illustration by TCA Architects
1801 21st Street, image via Google Satellite
Demolition will be required for surface parking. The 2.35-acre property spans 21st Street to 22nd Street between R Street and Rice Alley. Residents will be an eight-minute walk from the 23rd Street light rail station. The estimated timeline for construction and completion has yet to be established.
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Bland, basic, boring.
It does its job. It houses people. This isn’t Las Vegas or Disney or some attraction. Yall don’t know much construction & materials cost. Add to the inflation & all the fees the developers have to pay in midtown.
I don’t think we should throw out quality of design just to house people.
I did not say throw out quality of design. Their goal is to house people at the end of the day. Become a developer and see how hard & expensive it is to build & develop projects today, & in midtown & in California. People think its just so easy to draw up something & build it like its Sim City lol.
I agree. This developers other project, which takes up two blocks, is only 5 stories tall, and has zero restaurant, retail or entertainment to engage the public is such a waste. Only the people who can afford to live in there (or who luck into the affordable component) will engage with those sprawlscrapers . That area will be fairly quiet, urban-lite neighborhood, with nothing to draw in the public. (I know because I live in a similar building. It’s basically a prison to house hundreds of people at $2200 a month. Well, at least my building is 2 stories taller.)
If construction prices are too high, then maybe it’s better to wait until prices come down. If this were a few years ago, I’d be more supportive, but I’m tired of these developments. All of these projects look the same… Cheap. I believe the architectural style is called “Developer Modernism.” Essentially, it’s the same boxy building over and over again. The only variations are the footprint size and floor count (from 3 to 9 stories).
What’s more, developers are beginning to drop mixed-use developments in favor of housing-only. Retail and office may be down right now, but that won’t always be the case. We’re always behind the curve, and we’re wasting awesome properties and turning them into quiet, residential neighborhoods. We’re going to regret it.
It’s time for Sacramento to expect better.
If developers insist on building, but they can’t construct anything interesting (because it “doesn’t pencil”), why can’t they focus on the alleys? Developing the alleys could add 1000s of units. However, the street-facing properties should be left for office, entertainment, and mixed-use.
Another thing to keep in mind is the effect of government-backed projects. The government always pays way too much for way too little. There is no incentive for contractors to lower their prices. A few months ago, I read an article about a small to medium-sized, affordable, multi-family residential project in the Bay Area. 95% of the cost will be paid for by government grants. The cost is $1.2 million per unit. That’s ridiculous! Additionally, the state of California paid $ billions for state office buildings that it doesn’t even need. No private developer would pay that much for those boring buildings.
Contractors love government projects because of the high prices they get. If government stopped paying for these overpriced projects, and if cities stopped funding stadiums for billionaire team owners, construction prices would come down, and the construction market would see the price correction it so desperately needs.