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Getting Answers Road Tour: Holes In Sacramento Land Development

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — You may have noticed two prime pieces of land in the heart of Downtown Sacramento continue to sit undeveloped.

That's caught the eye of some CBS13 viewers who emailed us to ask us: what's up?

Well, we got some answers for them and you.

The huge lot at the corner of Third Street and Capitol Avenue in Sacramento has been called Sacramento's "hole in the ground."

It was supposed to be a twin-tower condo and hotel building—scheduled to go up in 2008. The real estate collapse stopped that project in its tracks.

Ten years later, the land sits. We've learned it's owned by the California Public Employee's Retirement System.

CalPERS tells CBS13 the new plan to build a 30-story, mixed-use building is still in the works. The building will include office space, retail, and apartments.

Right now, developers continue to look for an "anchor tenant" to help kick-start the project. As of now, there's no timeline for when construction could begin.

A stone's throw away from that location is a prime slice of downtown at 16th and O streets.

It's an empty lot that has a huge shed with some type of equipment going into the shed.

CBS 13 viewer Steven Starr wrote us to ask, "What's with all the pipes and noise?"

We've learned the location used to be home to a dry cleaning business, and it's in need of "remediation."

Remediation is done when toxic chemicals have been used for a long period, and the groundwater needs to be cleaned out.

That's what is happening on this lot, owned by the State of California.

Nothing will be built on the land until the cleanup is done, and we've learned that could take a while.

Have a question about something happening in your neighborhood? Email Tony Lopez directly: you can find him at tlopez@kovr.com

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