Archinect - News

Sacramento International Airport announces $1.3 billion expansion project

2023-02-07T08:00:00-05:00

The Sacramento County Department of Airports, the entity that operates the Sacramento International Airport (SMF), has announced a $1.3 billion expansion project that will transform the airport to meet projected passenger growth over the next seven years.

Called SMForward, the expansion consists of six projects launching in 2024. To start is the construction of a $140 million pedestrian walkway, which will connect Terminal B to Concourse B. Additional projects include expansions to Terminal A and Concourse B, with new gates and amenities; a new Terminal B parking garage; and a consolidated ground transportation center that will bring taxi, rideshare, and off-site shuttle providers to one place that is walkable from both terminals. This major undertaking is expected to be completed in late 2027 following the completion of a new $400 million centralized rental car facility.

SMForward is the largest construction project in the Airport’s history. It will be financed through a combinati...

Sacramento offers preapproved architectural designs to property owners to mitigate housing crisis

2023-01-23T14:13:00-05:00

There is new housing help in Sacramento with the city now offering free architectural designs, permit-approved, to build on your property. You can download the plans straight from the city website. The aim is to increase housing across the city.

The available architectural plans are for accessory dwelling units (ADUs). In this instance, they will come in three forms: studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units. This move by Sacramento is meant to address the city’s housing crisis by providing property owners an incentive to build and offer space for those in need of a home. As noted by Garret Norman, a senior planner with Sacramento, this plan aims to save costs and time due to not needing to hire designers or going through the normal review process.

Constructing more ADUs is a major element in Sacramento’s goal to create 45,000 new housing units over the next seven years. The city is currently falling behind state guidelines that require more than 5,600 new homes to be built each year.

New California building codes allow for high-rise mass timber buildings

2022-08-08T18:33:00-04:00

California building codes were updated in July to allow for the construction of mass timber buildings up to 18 stories tall. [...] "There's been extensive testing for this application and taking mass timber into taller wood buildings [...] The building codes are very conservative in the U.S. Even though Europe has been using mass timber for many years it's still relatively new in the U.S."

The new California building codes come as mass timber applications in buildings gain momentum across North America. Most notable is the recently-opened Ascent Tower by Korb + Associates Architects in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which was crowned the world’s tallest timber-concrete hybrid building.

Previously on Archinect: CTBUH certifies Ascent as the world's tallest mass timber hybrid building

CBS Sacramento also reported on a new local proposal called the Lot X development, which includes a five-story mass timber office building.

Fentress Architects selected to design the California Indian Heritage Center in Sacramento

2022-05-11T15:26:00-04:00

Fentress Architects has been chosen by California State Parks and the California Indian Heritage Center Task Force to design the California Indian Heritage Center (CIHC) in Sacramento.

Per a press announcement, the site will be a destination where “visitors from across California, the nation, and the world will be drawn to this center of statewide significance for cultural preservation, learning and exchange, land stewardship based on Native American values, and a place to engage all visitors celebrating the living cultures of California tribal communities.”

California Indian Heritage Center location plan. Image via Final General Plan & Environmental Impact Report, 2011.

The 51-acre CIHC will be located at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers in West Sacramento. The project reflects a decades-long collaboration between the state and California Native American tribal governments and communities, along with allied individuals and institutions. The development gained mo...

Nowhere fast: California's High-Speed Rail project is now twice the size of its originally proposed budget

2022-02-16T20:50:00-05:00

The cost to build California’s ambitious but long delayed high-speed rail line has once again risen, with rail officials now estimating it could take up to $105 billion to finish the line from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The project’s price tag has steadily risen since voters first approved nearly $10 billion in bond money for it in 2008, when the total cost was pegged at $40 billion.

The additional need for money stems from necessary sound barrier upgrades and repositioning of the train away from the Central Valley’s Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, according to project officials. The state is confident it can raise the necessary funds from the new federal infrastructure bill, which includes about $55 billion in allocations for transit grants over the next four years.

The 500-mile-long project is still severely lagging in the area of public funding but has nevertheless managed to acquire about 90% of the land parcels needed to complete the project, according to an updated 2022 budget plan released by the California High Speed Rail Authority. A portion of the project is also being funded by the state’s cap-and-trade program, which has been itself been under-resourced as a partial result of the reduction in travel caused by the coronavirus.

Sacramento is considering a law to guarantee housing as California's homeless population grows

2021-11-20T10:00:00-05:00

This idea was met with skepticism and didn’t move beyond the whiteboard. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation creating a right to housing, saying he worried it would be too expensive. During that time, Steinberg continued chewing on the idea, looking at places such as New York City and Scotland for ideas on how to enact legislation that would compel government to act and aid homeless people.

California is home to more than one quarter of the nation’s homeless population. If approved, the law would guarantee the right to housing with a dual “obligation” that requires the individual to accept whatever living situation is offered. The law would take effect beginning in 2023.

Sacramento has pledged $100 million over the next two years to help combat the issue, although some community organizations view the Steinberg plan as too “vague” or even a front that will help clear out encampments that it considers unsightly.

“Where will they go? What will be offered to them? Who will and how will they be compelled to move,” local nonprofit leader Joe Smith told the LA Times. “Let’s start with a plan to build homes.”

Sacramento Wants Your Help With Arena Plan

2011-07-08T11:25:17-04:00

The city of Sacramento has launched a new campaign to keep the public in the fight for a new arena. The city is asking its neighbors to become citizen architects. Now you don’t really have to be an architect to sign up. In fact, if you’re a Kings fan and you want a new, downtown arena then you’re probably just who the city is looking for.