Business Journal: Vanir Tower, Proposed Marijuana Café, New Downtown Housing

UCD Med Center A Hot Spot For New Home Construction

More housing is being built near the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, north of the Tahoe Park neighborhood. That's in addition to another housing development near the facility that's almost finished. 

Scott Rodd from the Sacramento Business Journal says the area has become a hot-spot for new home construction.

"It's where the proposed Aggie Square project is going to be, which is a partnership between UC Davis and the City of Sacramento to create a kind of technology hub," says Rodd. "And usually, when you see projects like this, you'll also see interest from developers in developing land around it."

Western America Properties plans to build almost 70 single-family homes on 8.5 acres on Fairgrounds Drive. Meanwhile another developer is in the last phase of a 44-unit project that's also on Fairgrounds Drive.

Café Would Offer Sacramento's First On-Site Pot Consumption  

A new kind of marijuana dispensary could soon be opening in Sacramento that would offer a first in the city — on-site consumption.

The owner of the 515 Broadway dispensary near 5th and Broadway wants to relocate to a site to Franklin Boulevard, where he plans to open a pot café. He's trying to convince the city to let his customers consume there.

Rodd says it could reflect a sea change in the nature of dispensaries in Sacramento.

"They tend to be not exactly places where people hang out and socialize," says Rodd. "Sometimes they have security, often you have to check-in as soon as you get there. This would kind of re-frame it as a social environment where people can go, purchase their products and hang out for a little bit afterwards if they'd like."

The new business — which would be called The Kana Company — would also feature cannabis retail, delivery and manufacturing.

Vanir Tower Project Dead

Vanir Development — the company that wanted to build a 26-story high-rise at 6th and J streets in downtown Sacramento — is changing plans. Rodd says the ambitious Vanir Tower proposal is dead.

"The city said to the developers, 'Hey, this has been sitting around for four years now, it's time to either move ahead with the project or we might need to pull the plug,'" says Rodd. "So Vanir ended up sending a letter to the city saying, 'We're not going end up doing this 26-story project, but we have something else in the works.'"

It's unclear what exactly is "in the works." Sources say Vanir may be considering something similar to Kimpton-Sawyer — the hotel near Golden 1 Center — that would feature office space, retail on the ground floor and residential condos.

Sacramento Commons Project Moves Forward

Developers of an ambitious, multi-phase housing project in downtown Sacramento have submitted initial site work to the city. The project — called Sacramento Commons — would be downtown's largest residential development in several years. Rodd says it'll be on 7th Street between N and P streets.

"It's going to be about 218 units with ground floor retail," says Rodd. "Right now there are some high-rise apartments at the location. And those will be torn down to make way for the new Sacramento Commons."

The plan calls for four mid-rise apartment buildings and three taller residential buildings with a mix of apartments, condos and hotel rooms. Construction could start later this year.