And as far as downtowns color and hipness, soon the people who bring art and music to downtown as well as sell you your tickets at the crest and bus your table at zocolo will be priced completely out of downtown.

But I can’t afford it, not without going into debt. And I couldn’t afford it when I lived in Portland.

I’m not opposed to the towers in general, and, as my last paragraph states, would consider living in one if I could afford it. I firmly believe this city should grow up instead of out. However, I’m worried that the market can’t sustain that much luxury condo living, and I continue to be concerned about the development of luxury living while ignoring the need for housing for people of more modest means. I sincerely hope the developers and the city prove me wrong.

I’m also concerned that the condo population will still be largely transient, either up and comers who haven’t started families yet, or seniors who won’t be around forever. Of course, this won’t be entirely true, and hopefully enough people will take up more or less permanent residence and create the community we both want.

Finally, I’ve been loving the personal attacks on my civic pride. You said: I guess you haven’t visited downtown in a while. Sigh. This is a problem with Sacramento. Everyone assumes everyone else is from the ‘burbs (because it is still largely true). I rent in East Sac and I work downtown. I walk to work. That’s right, I walk. I spend a lot of time downtown, even on weekends.

·It’s adjacent to the river where the view will never be obstructed,
·Across from the mall where we can get anything of a textile nature we need,
·Two blocks down from the Crocker museum and Crocker Park,
·Across from the baseball park,
·Five blocks from the Crest with it’s funky movies and music,
·Six blocks to Capitol Park, and
·Seven blocks to the Community Center;

It will be a community in itself, but it will also contribute to the feeling of sharing a downtown community. As for your arguments that we’re a “wanna be hip ” cow town, I guess you haven’t visited downtown in a while. Besides all of the above “hip” characteristics, we have a high density of many really incredible restaurants now, good music venues, and a waterfront that (I think) is the best thing about the city.

The people I’ve spoken with who are willing to pay a premium price for a condo in Sacramento feel something of a mission to contribute to the downtown community (and economy). We want to it grow into a community where more folks feel like they’re coming home when they arrive here. We already feel that way but, until now, we haven’t seen anything we wanted to buy in to. These condos are an exciting development for Sacramento and we’re looking forward to moving in.

Second, my last paragraph indicates that I am not straight-out opposed to these towers, only ambivalent. I’m concerned because of the “exclusive” nature of tower developments, but, as you can see, I am “intrigued” and would even consider buying in to such a development. I am also simply wondering aloud if the market can stand such developments or, as Carl suggests, if Sacramento would be better served by high-density developments on a somewhat smaller scale.

Finally, I grew up in Sacramento (in Midtown, not the ‘burbs) and, like many, couldn’t wait to leave. I lived in Portland, Oregon for fifteen years but always felt homesick. I made a conscious decision to return, because I love it here (earning no end of derision from many of my childhood friends). Don’t accuse me of not having civic pride just because I don’t want Sacramento to be like Manhattan (or San Francisco, for that matter). It is in fact my civic pride that makes me wonder about the nature of development in this town.

It may surprise you to know that I actually agree with much of what you say in this post.