Business Journal: Press Building Gets A Restaurant; Steinberg Wants The Bee To Stay Local; City Councilman Working With For-Profit University

Journey To The Dumpling Finds Midtown Site

Another restaurant is coming to Midtown Sacramento. The Sacramento Business Journal's Sonya Sorich says it'll be located at 21st and Q streets — the site of the Sacramento Bee's old parking lot, now under construction as a huge apartment complex with retail space.

"This week we learned a locally owned Chinese restaurant has signed on to fill some of that retail space in the project, which is called the Press Building,” says Sorich. “The restaurant is called Journey to the Dumpling and they’re known for their soup dumplings and they’ve got a strong following in Elk Grove."

The restaurant could be opening at the end of the year. There's one other confirmed retail tenant: F45 Training. It's a fitness chain that was founded in Australia. Actor Mark Wahlberg is an investor. One other retail spot remains unfilled.

Steinberg Wants The Bee To Stay Local

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg wants to put an investor group together to buy the Sacramento Bee. McClatchy — the Bee's parent company — is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. As part of its bankruptcy, McClatchy proposed being sold to a New Jersey-based hedge fund. But Steinberg says he wants a local ownership group to buy the city’s hometown paper. Sorich says the plan would not cover the entire McClatchy chain of papers.

"Steinberg is focusing his efforts only on the Sacramento Bee,” says Sorich. “He plans to have a meeting later this month with investors and local leaders to talk about an ownership structure."

Steinberg says the city itself "would not and should not" be an owner or sponsor of the paper which he believes should continue to be an independent journalism operation in Sacramento.

City Councilman Consulting For For-Profit University

A for-profit university, California Northstate University, is proposing to build a hospital in Elk Grove and they’ve brought Sacramento City Councilman Allen Warren in as a development consultant. Warren is a developer and founder of New Faze Development.

Warren says he plans to help the Elk Grove hospital navigate environmental reviews and the entitlement process. That's expected to include taking questions and comments from residents.

“Warren thinks the project would bring a significant economic benefit to the region, along with adding new medical capacity to Elk Grove,” says Sorich. “In fact, he thinks the proposed hospital could ultimately have a bigger economic impact than Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento."

The project would be a big deal for Elk Grove. It's expected to cost at least $750 million. But it's also attracted some criticism from residents.

“Some Elk Grove residents say the university hasn't been transparent about the project,” says Sorich. “California Northstate officials have declined to disclose who's funding the proposed hospital.”

Other project opponents include business owners at the Stonelake Landing shopping center, which would be demolished to make way for the hospital. Some residents also oppose the scale of the project.

At a recent community forum, Warren acknowledged that the project has had missteps. But despite those missteps, he said he thinks university leaders' "intentions have been positive and right."

The city of Elk Grove is currently reviewing plans for the project. University officials hope to break ground as soon as possible and open the hospital by 2022. It would be located next to the university's campus near Elk Grove Boulevard and Interstate 5.