Local Sacramento church and funeral establishment with common leadership find new homes on the same day

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Almost twenty years ago, Dr. Anthony Wallace founded New Direction Christian Center, which grew into a large church with Christian school and many programs.  For a period of time, the church occupied a 22,000 square foot building at 6524 44th Street in South Sacramento, which is now occupied by Bayside of South Sacramento.

Dr. Anthony Wallace

Dr. Anthony Wallace

Unfortunately, due to financial hardships, New Direction couldn’t hang on to the building it once owned due to the crushing recession.  In the years since, New Direction has rented different facilities for church services, including a long-term shared arrangement with a Seventh-Day Adventist church and for the past two years through Sunday-only rentals of the historic Guild Theater in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento.  New Direction has always been blessed with a place to meet, but its members have longed for the day when they can once again utilize their own building throughout the entire week.

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A Christmas Miracle – JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que Style

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Floyd Rothenberger, better known as JR, has been serving up some of THE BEST Bar-B-Que west of the Mississippi for the past 29 years. Having started his career at a young age working with his father in the family roofing business (ROOF General Roofing), JR progressed to become the preferred roofer of choice for all of Sacramento’s most prominent commercial real estate developers and even roofed the personal homes of the late Buzz Oates and Joe Benvenuti.

Click here for related article in the Sacramento Business Journal.

JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que – 29 years @ 180 Otto Circle (South Sacramento)

In 1986, following over 30 years in roofing, JR met a Bar-B-Que man from Texas. After watching the process, JR noticed it looked pretty similar to his roofing tar pot and figured that cooking tar and bar-b-que couldn’t be much different. So, JR applied his best-in-class roofing skills to a best-in-class bar-b-que process and put his new smoking techiques to the test with the toughest clientele he knew… roofers (who don’t agree on anything), contractors (who always think they’re the best) and car salesman (looking for a good deal). All agreed that JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que was by far the best. As a result, JR opened JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que in November 1987 at 180 Otto Circle, near the former Campbell’s Soup Factory in South Sacramento. 

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GreenWheel Farms announces launch of demonstration center in America’s Farm to Fork Capital (Sacramento, CA)

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Capitalizing on a concept first conceived in the 1970’s by NASA for growing produce in space, Casey Call, CEO of GreenWheel Farms, spent the past two years in research and development working to create a commercial grade proprietary system for growing “simply better than organic” leafy produce in a fully controlled environment (24/7) that will change the architecture of agriculture. The closed loop system produces zero waste and is a welcome technological advancement that will prevent excessive use of precious water in drought prone communities.

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Historic Eastern Star Hall in Midtown Sacramento scheduled for Auction.com sale

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Historic Eastern Star Hall (2719 K Street – Midtown Sacramento) – Auction Sale July 15, 2015

It was a sad day in May (2013) when the Eastern Star Hall Association officially closed its doors at 2719 K Street (Midtown Sacramento) for the very last time. Following a series of organizational challenges, the building was put up for sale and later acquired by a local Mason, who had visions of leasing the +/- 31,500 square foot iconic structure for commercial purposes. Even with the new landlord’s depth of commercial real estate knowledge and experience, it proved difficult to attract a tenant who would lease the entire building.  

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Portion of Sacramento’s former Canterbury Inn and Conference Center changes hands again after 10 years

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Bilingual Christian Center sells to Sacramento True Buddha Temple

The former Canterbury Inn, a once thriving 152 room hotel and conference center off Highway 160 (just north of Downtown Sacramento), divested its 7,000 square foot meeting room and banquet facility over 10 years ago. To facilitate the transaction, a lot line adjustment was first required to split the parcel, thereby creating 450 Media Place. Legal access to the resulting back lot (0.8 acres) was only by easement through the hotel parking lot with no access along the private frontage road. The buyer for this new parcel (in 2003) was Bilingual Christian Center, a Spanish speaking church, who had applied for and was granted a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) by the City of Sacramento to accomplish the new use. Approximately 18 months ago, the church decided to sell and relocate elsewhere with a desire for more street visibility.

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Ralph Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu opening first Sacramento affiliate in North Natomas

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) has a certain following in Sacramento with approximately ten separate facilities spread throughout the area; yet North Sacramento has been under served… until now.  This month, another BJJ operator will open its doors in North Natomas, but with one significant distinction.  It will sport the Gracie family name.  

Those familiar with BJJ will immediately recognize the value of this franchise, which started in 1914 when “a Japanese Jiu-Jitsu champion Esai Maeda migrated to Brazil, where he was instrumental in establishing a Japanese immigrant community.  His efforts were aided by Gastão Gracie, a Brazilian scholar and politician of Scottish descent.  As an expression of his gratitude for Gracie’s assistance, Maeda taught the Brazilian’s oldest son Carlos the essential secrets of the ancient martial arts technique.  Carlos taught Maeda’s techniques to his four brothers, and in 1925 they opened the first Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy in Brazil.”

Click here for related story by the Sacramento Business Journal.

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Jackson Sports Academy expands to offer largest basketball facility in Northern California @ McClellan Park

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Jackson Sports Academy expands to 200,000 sq.ft. facility @ McClellan Park

Over the past seven years, Dwayne Jackson (Jackson Sports Academy) has leased multiple Sacramento area warehouse facilities in pursuit of growing his girls club volleyball franchise.  Just over a year ago, this pursuit lead Jackson to McClellan Park, where Brian Jacks (East West Commercial Real Estate Broker) represented him for the 10-year lease of almost 75,000 square feet, which primarily houses 12 volleyball courts plus doubles for other sports and entertainment venues as well.  It was always Jackson’s goal to one day expand to offer basketball and indoor soccer too.  McClellan Park’s free-span hangars were the perfect solution with a sea of parking right out front.  Now, with the opportunity to host basketball tournaments in connection with Matt William’s Jam On It Basketball Academy, Jackson Sports Academy and East West Commercial have secured an expansion that totals almost 200,000 square feet, making it the largest basketball facility in Northern California.

Click here for a press release by the Sacramento Sports Commission and related articles by the Sacramento Business Journal and News Radio KFBK.  Click here for a news story by KCRA Channel 3 and video of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League Tournament held April 2014 at Jackson Sports Academy.

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Commercial site in Sacramento’s Land Park becomes focal point of community once again

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On Sutterville Road in Land Park is a two story office building located right in between the Sacramento Zoo, La Bou Café and Sprouts Market.  Until recently, this 40,000 square foot building had become almost entirely devoid of tenants and business activity due to the severe recession.  However, it’s not the first time this particular property has succumbed to the pressures of a deteriorating local economy.  

Land Park office building becomes focal point of community once again

Click here for related article in Sacramento Business Journal.

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Commercial property lease expirations sneak up on Sacramento area business owners

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It’s still a tenant’s market out there… and its been that way for quite some time here in the Sacramento area.  Commercial property owners know all to well that savvy tenant’s have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating new or renewal leases.  However, not being armed with the right information (and trying to go it alone) can lead to less than stellar results.  

Photo by the Sacramento Business Journal

The Sacramento Business Journal discussed in a recent article how Rob Fauble, owner of The Beat (a record store in Midtown Sacramento), lost his commercial property lease after 19 years in business at 1700 J Street.  Although Rob make the right decision to hire a local Sacramento commercial real estate broker, he was still unsuccessful in cutting a deal with the landlord to let him stay.  Occasionally, a commercial property owner has the opportunity to upgrade a tenant with a national company, who can pay more rent and create value for the property… such as the case with The Beat’s former location.  

More often that not, however, in this current market, tenant’s hold the necessary leverage to negotiate highly favorable lease terms for commercial property throughout the greater Sacramento area.  Continue reading below for a list of do’s and dont’s to learn how tenants can best prepare for this important task.

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4th Annual Legislative Summit hosted by California Asian Chamber of Commerce at State Capitol

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Living in Sacramento, its easy to take for granted that we actually reside in the State Capitol of California, which represents the 9th largest economy in the entire world.  At times, a healthy reminder is in order to draw attention to this remarkable privilege that we all share.  Important matters are considered and decided every day inside the venerable halls of the State Capitol.  We are certainly fortunate to now have our very own local correspondent, Christopher Arns (Sacramento Business Journal), who has already written over 40 stories covering legislative activities surrounding the State Capitol since January.  

It is incumbent upon citizens to communicate with legislators to ensure their voices are heard.  It is within this context I participated last week in the 4th Annual Legislative Summit at the State Capitol, hosted by the California Asian Chamber of Commerce.  Pat Fong Kushida (President & CEO of the CalAsian Chamber) led four teams who met with over 40 legislative offices to discuss pro-business issues including workforce development, taxation, economic development, and regulatory reform.  It was a terrific day with open dialogue and a distinct willingness to come together.

California State Senator Jim Nielsen (third from left) with CalAsian Chamber lobby team

One such meeting took place with Senator Jim Nielsen (see picture above), where team representatives connected on a personal level, sharing concerns and ideas for improvement in various areas.  This scene repeated itself many times throughout the day as we walked the halls, transitioning from one meeting to the next.  In a fitting culmination of events, the CalAsian Chamber lobby teams capped off the evening with a tasteful reception with dozens of legislators and staffers, along with community and business leaders.

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