The time flies...it has been 2.5 months since I cruised around and checked in on the progress of projects in Sacramento with tower cranes. My timing was great because I found out the next day that I need to quarantine because of COVID-19...

We lost one tower crane (Hyatt Centric Marshall Hotel, 8th and L Street. DavisREED Construction) but gained a new mini tower crane at Mansion Inn (see below). Overall, our count stands at eight. Sacramento is abuzz with construction which is a great sight. The projects below go from west to east starting in West Sacramento.

​CalSTRS second tower in West Sacramento, DPR Construction.

​Sacramento Commons, 5th and O Streets, Deacon Construction.

​601 Capitol Mall; this project is now called The Frederic. Heller Pacific is the owner's rep and JMI is the general contractor (2 tower cranes).

DGS Swing Space, O Street between 10th and 11th Streets. Hensel Phelps Construction (2 tower cranes). This project is far enough along that I expect the cranes to be removed soon.

Mansion Inn, H Street between 15th and 16th Streets. DesCor Builders (mini tower crane...does this count as a full tower crane? Asking for a friend).

Hyatt House, K and 28th Streets in Midtown. Tricorp Construction. This is a cool project. It took a few months of installing falsework before they could remove the horizontal elements of the structure and start excavating the basement. A craft worker for the excavation subcontractor saw me taking this picture and said "This project is very difficult. Avoid the construction industry." If he only knew...

These pix were taken a few days ago. Eight total, going from west to east:

CalSTRS second tower in West Sacramento, DPR Construction.

Sacramento Commons, 5th and O Streets, Deacon Construction.

601 Capitol Mall. Heller Pacific is the owner's rep (2 tower cranes).

Hyatt Centric Marshall Hotel, 8th and L Street. DavisREED Construction.

DGS Swing Space, O Street between 10th and 11th Streets. Hensel Phelps Construction (2 tower cranes).

Hyatt House, K and 28th Streets in Midtown. Tricorp Construction.

7th and G Streets. This parcel is owned by the City of Sacramento. This rig helped set some test drilled piers (not visible in the picture). This will likely be the site of a mid- to high-rise project. The new Sacramento County Courthouse will be across the street to the west.

Driving steel tube piles at the piers for the Tower Bridge. I'm not sure if these are to reinforce the existing piers or to protect the piers from wayward boats. Based on the marks on the piles, these are going to be driven to a depth of  at least​ 110 feet from top of pile.

COVID-19 is a bummer and has been really hard on the restaurant business, but we appreciate the creativity it has unleashed. Tracey and I were apparently the only people not in Tahoe this weekend, so we hit a lot of our favorite places to eat. First up on Friday evening was the new outdoor set up at Beast and Bounty at the Ice Blocks in midtown Sacramento. We stayed true to our 95% plant-based diet and had the tofu meatballs, kale Caesar, vegan pizza and topped off with the rotating IPA for me and rose for TReg. The two slices of pizza that survived dinner were consumed less than an hour later at home because it was too good to save for leftovers.

The next morning (Saturday) we made the drive to Napa Valley and visited our new favorite winery Ashes & Diamonds. This place is unbelievable. First, you are greeted by two striking Barbara Bestor-designed buildings that seem inspired by a mid-century Palm Springs vibe yet look incredibly at home among the vineyards.

The wine matches the architecture and we did a tasting that included the Rose, Blanc, and Mountain Cuvee, all of which we bought a bottle of (or three of the Saffron Mountain Cuvee, of which we were compelled by the incredible taste and even more incredible story). It was good thing the tasting was two hours and included food. The setting and service (thanks Jasmine!) made it go seem much shorter than that.

Later that afternoon, after a walk around St. Helena to look at art that we somehow tricked the gallery owner into thinking we could afford, we stopped at Gott's Roadside Diner on the way out of town. I had decided early in the day I was going to make a wide departure from the plant-based diet and go deep into beef territory. I was planning on a burger, probably with bacon and cheese (ok, very wide departure). But the special of the weekend was an heirloom  tomato BLT that looked incredible. Given the depth of hamburger possibilities in Sacramento, I opted for the item that would be hard to replicate anywhere else. I was not disappointed.

Bonus: T gave me one of her three avocado tacos that came with her meal. Along with some brussel sprouts (just ok, not crispy enough) and onion rings (phenomenal), I washed this gastro party down with a Pliny the Elder and was sufficiently sated until the following morning.

Sunday came and we decided to walk to the Faria Bakery in Oak Park. T has been randomly bringing home treats when she picks up a loaves of olive bread and we had the fontina and potato pizza last week that was one of the best pizzas we have ever had (seriously). The walk from our house was three miles each way, meaning I would more than earn the caloric reward provided by the buckwheat coffee cake I selected. Between the coffee cake, olive loaf and morning bun we shlepped home, we had a bag heavy enough to make carrying it a workout. T and I had to take turns and had to switch arms often. Note to self: the next time we walk three miles to buy food that's as dense as it is delicious, bring a backpack.

This weekend was a not-so-subtle reminder of how lucky we are to live in Northern California,  the farm-to-fork capital of the world. So much fresh, delicious food that the producers are finding innovative ways to get into our digestive tracts by way of our ever grateful pallets.

It's that time of year again! I'm preemptively posting the slides for the CFMA economic forecast presentation (Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Sac State Alumni Center). I look forward to this every year. Send questions or comments to reg@justinreginato.com.

This $520 million project is going to greatly improve Sacramento's skyline. Check out the Turner project webpage for details.

From May/June 2019.

I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity that CFMA affords me to geek on construction and economics. I hope I get invited next year! The slides from this year's presentation on February 21 are below.