Housing, spa, restaurant on way to K Street

An Orange County developer is banking on the success of his new complex that will bring high-end apartments and 'American bistro' cuisine to downtown Sacramento.

By Mary Lynne Vellinga -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 3, 2006
Story appeared in Metro section, Page B1

But an apartment developer from Laguna Niguel is well on his way to bringing K Street its first new housing in modern memory, a high-end restaurant and a day spa with virtually no fanfare and little city involvement beyond a $2.3 million low-interest loan.

Bob Clippinger's reconstruction of the historic Sears department store at 12th and K streets is under construction and scheduled for completion later this year.

He has ripped the 77-year-old building down to its bare bones and is spending about $15.5 million to rebuild it into a four-story structure with 23 apartments on the third and fourth floors.

Rents will be in the $3,000-to $4,000-a-month range - a price tag that targets lobbyists, lawyers and other professionals who need a place to stay near the Capitol.

The apartments, some of them two stories, will offer panoramic views of the stained glass windows in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, the historic Weinstock's building on K Street and the so-called "Ban Roll-On" building across 12th Street.

On the ground floor, the owners of The Kitchen Restaurant and Selland's Market-Cafe in east Sacramento are opening a new restaurant, Ella, that will feature a cuisine they've defined as "American bistro."

"We had been thinking about doing something for quite some time downtown," said Josh Nelson, general manager of The Kitchen. "We really like the location there and we really like Bob Clippinger. We thought it was finally the right time to do it. It's going to be a beautiful space. I think it will be the most noticeable location on K Street."

The Kitchen ownership group has hired UXUS Design, a firm with offices in Napa and Amsterdam, to design everything from interiors to plates. Nelson said the design would include a mixture of classic and modern elements whose main goal is to create comfort.

In addition to the restaurant, the building will house a two-story day spa operated by the owner of Elysium Day Spa and Salon in Elk Grove.

Clippinger said he sought advice from the concierges at the Sheraton and Hyatt hotels to find out what services their guests were lacking nearby.

"They said, 'We really need a full service spa,' " Clippinger said.

With his project, Clippinger is adding to the extensive redevelopment that has occurred in recent years on the eastern end of the pedestrian mall, which has been transformed with the new IMAX theater, Esquire Bar & Grill, Pyramid Alehouse and other venues.

Walk west toward Downtown Plaza, however, and the surroundings get considerably bleaker. The south side of the 1000, 800 and 700 blocks of K Street includes many vacant and underused buildings, and some have even been demolished. The city is working with three different development teams on retail, housing and entertainment projects for those sections of the mall.

Clippinger's corner was by comparison an easier place to attract tenants. It's close to the Sacramento Convention Center and flanked by the newly renovated cathedral. Plenty of cars pass by on 12th Street, and the building has an underground parking garage.

"I hope the stuff on the K Street Mall materializes, but it doesn't affect me," he said. "I'm not on the 1000 block. We're kitty-corner from two huge hotels, two blocks from the Capitol. I don't think we can miss."