By Joan Waters

Want to see what's going on downtown? Lace up you walking shoes and take a look for yourself.

Marriott Residence Inn/Condominiums -1501 L St.

“There are absolutely beautiful, uninterrupted views of the state Capitol,” says Tony Giannoni of the 15-story, 236-suite hotel under construction at the corner of 15th and L streets. “We’re right on the park with nothing between us and the Capitol.”

By early this summer, 12 floors of the 15th & L Partners’ $35 million Marriott Residence Inn hotel/condominium project were up, and Giannoni projected the hotel would open in February. Each of the top three floors will have 10 condos with from 800 to 1,250 square feet of living space. Prices had not yet been set, but Giannoni, also the developer of the 12-story Meridian Plaza at 14th and L streets, said the range will be comparable to other new condos downtown. “They’ll be beautifully finished, and we think they’ll appeal to those people who want to be in the midst of downtown’s restaurant and entertainment district.”

The REA Building -431 I St.

In 2002, when developers purchased the two-story brick structure known as the REA Building (next door to the Southern Pacific Depot), it was in shambles. The roof, floors and exterior awnings had collapsed, the windows and frames were broken, and it had been designated as a dangerous building. At one time, REA was the country’s largest ground and air express service, and its Sacramento terminal, built in 1925, is listed on the national and California registers of historic places. The REA Partners’ rehab of the building began in November 2004 and included repair and weatherproofing of the shell, a seismic retrofit, addition of mechanical and electrical systems, new bathrooms, elevator and stairs and outfitting for new uses including ground-floor retail and office space above.

There’s now a Starbucks on the ground floor, and space is being readied for a restaurant/cafe. Upstairs, staff members of Thomas Enterprises, Inc., developer of the Union Pacific railyards, have moved in. No surprise there: The space offers a spectacular view of the railyards, where redevelopment work is projected to continue for the next 15 years or so.

800 J Lofts -800 J St.

For years, J Street’s burned-out rubble of a block between Eighth and Ninth streets left a lot of Sacramentans scratching their heads. This summer, the first tenants moved into CIM Group’s seven-story building at 800 J St., which now houses 225 loft-style apartments ranging from 547 to 1,362 square feet. The Los Angeles developer’s new residences have 10- to 14-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, high-end appliances, bamboo floors and granite counters. Tenants have 24-hour security, business and fitness centers, a screening room and concierge service. Shops and restaurants are planned for the ground floor, but no names yet. Quite a change for this stretch of J Street. One can only imagine the people-watching opportunities from those fabulous windows.

The Cathedral Building-1131 K St.

This $14 million, mixed-use project was reconstructed from the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. building that developer Bob Clippinger of Laguna Beach sighted on a jog through the K Street mall area during one of his visits here in 2004. “I travel to Sacramento frequently and stay at the Hyatt or Sheraton and jog down K Street,” he says. “One day, I saw this building on the corner and said to myself, ‘This is the entrance to K Street. It should be better than this.’ I sent an offer overnight because I knew that things were going to be happening on K Street and I wanted to jump in. People are going to want to live in these apartments,” Clippinger says. “They’re fun and very, very cool.”

The high-end “New York-style apartments” with 14-foot ceilings should be getting their finishing touches this month, and tenants are expected to begin moving in by October. The 23 apartments in the four-story building top about 4,600 square feet of office space and retail on the ground floor, including a new restaurant by Randall Selland, his wife Nancy and their children Tamera and Joshua. Ella, as it will be called, will seat about 200 and feature what Selland calls “American bistro” cuisine. It should be open by March. Apartments range from 523 to 1,001 square feet. Rents are projected in the $1,350 to $3,300 range.

This article appears in the December 2009 issue of Sacramento Magazine.