It’s Just a Matter of Time

🕒 3 min read

I attended a Panel Discussion Moderated by Randy Getz of CBRE at the Sutter Club in Downtown Sacramento this week.  Chuck Trainor, Managing Partner of Trainor Fairbrook, introduced David Taylor.

David Taylor’s Impact on Sacramento

David Taylor reflected on his early development projects. Few developers have shaped Sacramento’s skyline more than Taylor. His projects include The Sheraton, 1201 K Street, 1215 K Street, Sacramento City Hall, and 621 Capitol Mall. But David doesn’t just build buildings; he creates a sense of place.

Downtown Sacramento by the Numbers

David highlighted some interesting facts that illustrate how far Sacramento has come.   Notable points include:

  • In 2015 Bloomberg ranked Sacramento #6 as the most affordable fun city.
  • More than $1 billion has recently been invested in downtown development. Private sources funded approximately 58% of that total.
  • Since 2014, 25 properties have traded hands valued at over $538 million.
  • Of 900 people surveyed, 1/3 say they would like to live downtown, and 2/3 of the millennials surveyed want to be in the Grid.

Industry Leaders Discuss the Future

Following Taylor’s introduction, a diverse group of panelists came up on stage. The panelists included:  Denton Kelley, Partner with LDK Ventures, oversees the Railyard Development; Sandy Sharon, SVP and Area Manager for Kaiser; Ron Vrilakas, a prolific Central City Architect; and finally Ali Youseffi, Vice President of CFY Development.   Randy Getz led an insightful and interactive discussion with an audience of about 150 commercial real estate experts. Each panelist shed light on their optimistic view of downtown Sacramento’s future and the developments that they have been involved with.

Downtown Sacramento is the Ultimate Corporate Campus

A New Value Proposition for Downtown

What surfaced from all the comments is that the game – and the players – have changed. Downtown’s value proposition has risen (Sacramento Delivers, Private Sector Grows), with an abundance of new amenities including health clubs, bars and restaurants. And all the development would not be sustainable without the good paying Jobs being created downtown (Kaiser Hospital took down 18 acres in the Railyard for a future hospital and they bought 501 J for a new medical office building.)

More Companies Are Taking Notice

With this momentum, it is just a matter of time until companies like Facebook, Salesforce or Linkedin establish a presence in Downtown Sacramento. Just this week the Bay Area Tech Company, Support Pay, announced it was moving into Sacramento. SupportPay expects to grow in Sacramento, in a big way.

As David Taylor said in closing, Downtown Sacramento is the Ultimate Corporate Campus with everything right there for employees to work and play. It’s just a matter of time.