City Council clears the way for innovative workforce housing project on K Street

Artist’s rendering of 10th and K project

A 15-story housing and hotel complex planned for the heart of K Street got the green light Tuesday from the Sacramento City Council.

The council denied an appeal by the Laborers International Union Local 185 of the Planning and Design Commission’s earlier decision to exempt the project from environmental review.

Developer Nikki Mohanna said Tuesday that she plans to get started with construction in 2020. Mohanna plans to demolish three vacant commercial buildings on the southwest corner of 10th and K streets and replace them with a combined hotel and residential building that will feature 300 and 400-square foot apartments that she characterized as “attainable” for downtown workers.

Retail stores, restaurant space and the hotel lobby will occupy the building’s first floor. The lower seven floors will have 220 hotel rooms, and the top portion of the building will contain 186 apartments.

“I believe this project is truly critical to the long-term prosperity and economic viability of our downtown, and I believe it meets an immediate need for attainable housing for our urban workforce,” said Mohanna.

Mohanna is also nearing completion on an 11-story apartment building at 19th and J street that features “micro” studio apartments that will rent for less than $1,000 a month. She said it’s too early to say if the K Street units can be brought in at the same price point, since construction will take some time.

“Nikki Mohanna has once again created an innovative design for housing that includes units our young people can afford,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting because he was away on a family vacation. “She is demonstrating that we’re willing to look for creative solutions we can come up with ways to address our housing shortage.”