Living in Sacramento, its easy to take for granted that we actually reside in the State Capitol of California, which represents the 9th largest economy in the entire world.  At times, a healthy reminder is in order to draw attention to this remarkable privilege that we all share.  Important matters are considered and decided every day inside the venerable halls of the State Capitol.  We are certainly fortunate to now have our very own local correspondent, Christopher Arns (Sacramento Business Journal), who has already written over 40 stories covering legislative activities surrounding the State Capitol since January.  

It is incumbent upon citizens to communicate with legislators to ensure their voices are heard.  It is within this context I participated last week in the 4th Annual Legislative Summit at the State Capitol, hosted by the California Asian Chamber of Commerce.  Pat Fong Kushida (President & CEO of the CalAsian Chamber) led four teams who met with over 40 legislative offices to discuss pro-business issues including workforce development, taxation, economic development, and regulatory reform.  It was a terrific day with open dialogue and a distinct willingness to come together.

California State Senator Jim Nielsen (third from left) with CalAsian Chamber lobby team

One such meeting took place with Senator Jim Nielsen (see picture above), where team representatives connected on a personal level, sharing concerns and ideas for improvement in various areas.  This scene repeated itself many times throughout the day as we walked the halls, transitioning from one meeting to the next.  In a fitting culmination of events, the CalAsian Chamber lobby teams capped off the evening with a tasteful reception with dozens of legislators and staffers, along with community and business leaders.

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Sacramento commercial real estate investors who own property near the proposed site of the Downtown Arena are now one step closer to potentially significant increases in value.  The Sacramento City Council voted 7-2 in favor of approving the arena financing proposal, which creates the opportunity for investors to form a competing bid to acquire the Sacramento Kings.  News 10 caught up with Sacramento commercial real estate broker Brian Jacks to find out what this could mean for commercial properties within the immediate vicinity of the proposed arena.  Click here for News 10 story

Sacramento commercial real estate

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It’s always nice when a plan comes together.  East West Commercial Real Estate of Sacramento helped Jackson Sports Academy (JSA) relocate into a 72,000 sf building at McClellan Park in December 2012.  As a result, JSA’s non-profit arm, Jackson Sports For Athletes, has been able to expand its scholarship program to include recipient Hannah Heckman, whose story was recently shared in a feature article by The North Sac News.  

In addition to providing assistance for individual players, JSA’s community outreach regularly provides sport court facilities for local charter school students, enabling them to accumulate physical education credits.  One such beneficiary of this program is Community Collaborative Charter Schools (CCCS), who practically shares a parking lot with JSA at McClellan Park, creating much improved access to the program.

Other related programs offered through JSA include Harold Pressley’s Treat’em Like A King (TLK Foundation).  Pressley is a former Sacramento King, who partners with JSA to host basketball camps, which introduce at-risk and disadvantaged youth to sporting opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them.

JSA is a true partner in the community and is to be commended for its excellence and dedication to fostering opportunities for local youth to achieve their dreams.

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As reported in a recent article by the Sacramento Business Journal, “a new Brookings Institution study ranked 20 U.S. metro areas by the number of patents per million residents from 2007 through 2011.  All, including Sacramento, are home to major research universities.”  Clearly, UC Davis has been a major contributing factor to the Sacramento region’s success in this area.  While Sacramento barely made the cut at #20 on the list, it proves the region is certainly in the game and ripe for an ever-increasing market share of patents.  No surprise to anyone, our nearest competition, San Jose and San Francisco, ranked #1 and #3 with 1,988 and 555 patents, respectively.  However, when totaling the patents for all three Northern California cities, it represents over 34% of all patents nationwide.

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McClellan Park recognizes Brian Jacks of East West Commercial Real Estate in the December 21, 2012 issue of Sacramento Business Journal for signing a 10 year lease for 72,021 sf with Jackson Sports Academy.  Click here for the press release.

 

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The California Legislature recently approved Senate Bill 1186, which is designed to curb the misuse and abuse of California’s ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) laws and protect business owners. The catalyst driving the Legislature’s action was what the Bill’s authors described as a serious problem in which claimants and attorneys file “shakedown lawsuits against businesses in an effort to gain an easy payday with no intention of improving access for the disabled community.” Landlords and property owners were often faced with exploitive demand letters for money and would choose to pay the claimant simply to avoid the time and expense of dealing with litigation. 

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Empty restaurant buildings continue to sit idle throughout much of the greater Sacramento area.  Not so for the old Jolly Burger located at 7150 Auburn Blvd (historic Route 40) in Citrus Heights.  Under a new operator, the local burger stand will re-open with the same name on Saturday, November 10, 2012.

Jack and Sue Darting were the original proprietors of Jolly Burger for many years and worked hard to create a memorable dining experience.  In addition to friendly staff, customers were always greeted by a three dimensional cheesy hamburger affixed atop the building… one of Jack’s personal creations. The Dartings offered good old fashioned quality food including burgers, sandwiches, frosties, sundaes and shakes.  Their food was always a hit with the locals and especially students from Sylvan Elementary and Middle School, right across the street.  One can still find amazing consumer reviews on various websites like Yelp, Urban Spoon and Insider Pages.

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The last few years of economic distress has clearly taken its toll on the Sacramento commercial real estate market.  One prime example involves the 2009 closing of a 130,000 square foot Wal-Mart facility in Southgate Plaza, located on the southeast corner of Florin Road & Franklin Blvd in South Sacramento.

Sacramento Commercial Real Estate Digital Sign 2

As the main anchor for this 300,000 square foot community center, Wal-Mart’s departure ultimately created a mass exodus of tenants who had successfully lived off its draw of local shoppers for many years.  Holes began to appear with “FOR LEASE” signs being posted by a property manager anxious to re-lease the empty spaces.

Click here for related story by Sandy Nax of the Sacramento Business Journal.

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According to industry sources, a 12-story, Class A, Gold LEED certified commercial real estate office building known as 2020 Gateway Tower (north of Downtown Sacramento) may soon receive its first tenant. 

2020 Gateway Tower - Sacramento

News 10 anchor Cornell Barnard reported the California State Department of Housing and Community Development is considering the possibility of relocating its 100,000 square feet of office space (currently located at 1800 3rd Street) into the never-been-leased 325,000 square foot, green energy-efficient building in Natomas.  News 10 caught up with Sacramento Commercial Real Estate Broker, Brian Jacks, who said “many State office buildings are in nice locations, but this could be a great lease deal for taxpayers, as the owners [of 2020 Gateway Tower] are likely eager to lease space here for the first time after building completion three years ago.”  Click here to watch

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People who live and work in California’s State Capitol of Sacramento are still reeling from the de-leveraging effects of the housing collapse.  Many workers lost good paying jobs and could no longer maintain their mortgage payments, ultimately losing homes to foreclosure.  Others, who were able to keep their jobs, experienced such a dramatic reduction in home values that equity lines of credit were cut off and refinancing to take advantage of historic low rates became impossible.

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