Business Journal: Pete's Moving From Midtown To Downtown, High Rise Planned For River District, Sacramento Zoo Relocation

Pete's Moving From Midtown To Downtown

A mainstay pizzeria in Midtown Sacramento — at 20th and J streets — is moving to a spot downtown. The Sacramento Business Journal's Scott Rodd says Pete's Restaurant and Brewhouse will be relocating to Eighth and J streets, near Caesar Chavez Park.

"Renovations on the downtown location will begin at the start of the new year," says Rodd, "and Pete’s is expected to start operating there in the next several months. The restaurant’s manager said he hopes to capitalize on events at the Golden 1 Center."

A Hawaii-based restaurant called Tropics Ale House will fill Pete's current site at 20th and J. It’s billed as a sports bar that also serves pizza.

High Rise Planned For River District

A new state office complex may soon be under construction in Sacramento's River District. The building would be on the corner of Richards Boulevard and Seventh Street. Rodd says it would be one of the tallest high-rises in the region.

"The proposed office complex would contain three mid-rise buildings and a 29-story high-rise," says Rodd. "If the plans materialize, the high-rise would be one story short of Sacramento’s tallest building, the Wells Fargo Center in downtown."

Right now, the site is occupied by the California Office of State Publishing. That’s the agency in charge of producing hard copies of things like the state budget. The agency plans to relocate to West Sacramento in the next year or two. The new high-rise would be occupied by three other state agencies.

Broome Suggests Zoo Plan Sank Business Deal

A local business leader is saying the proposal to move the Sacramento Zoo to the Sleep Train Arena site in Natomas may have sunk a deal to bring a major employer to the area.

Barry Broome made the statement. He’s the CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. That’s the group set up a few years back to attract businesses and boost job creation.

"During a recent council board meeting," Rodd explains, "Broome said the organization had an opportunity to bring several employers to Sacramento to redevelop the Sleep Train Arena site, but the prospect of the Sacramento Zoo relocating to the site apparently hampered the deal. Broome said one of those employers would have brought about 1,000 jobs."

The zoo is reportedly at risk of losing its accreditation if it doesn’t either make expensive renovations or relocate to a new site. 

"Officials from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council declined to comment further on who the employers were or why a zoo would sink a such a deal," says Rodd, and city officials say they had not heard of a development deal like the one described being in the works for the Sleep Train site."

The Greater Sacramento Economic Council has had success in bringing some notable companies to Sacramento — they played a role in landing health insurer Centene’s corporate campus in Natomas and attracted a number of tech companies, including the data destruction company Wisetek earlier this year.