Sacramento’s Renaissance Tower auctioned for $21 million. Who bought it?
The Renaissance Tower, one of Sacramento’s tallest buildings, was auctioned this week for $21 million.
The auction began Monday and ended around midday Wednesday. Ethan Conrad Properties, a real estate investor with properties across the region, was the top bidder, Marketing Coordinator Mona Escudero confirmed Thursday.
The 28-story tower has struggled with low occupancy in recent years, one of several downtown amid a downturn in the commercial real estate market. The tower is just 27% occupied, according to materials marketing the building for auction.
And while some higher-occupancy buildings have fared better, the Renaissance Tower is also the latest in a series of large, low-occupancy downtown buildings to lose substantial value. The 13-story building at 770 L St. recently sold for about half of its 2018 sale price, and the five-story building at 630 K St. went for 37% of its 2020 sale price, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.
The Renaissance Tower previously sold for $80 million in 2016.
The tower was completed in 1989, and was the product of an era of Sacramento redevelopment that prioritized large office buildings as the city pushed residential neighborhoods out of the urban core. The Renaissance Tower became the city’s tallest building for a time, but was soon surpassed by others like the Wells Fargo Building in 1992, and the U.S. Bank Tower in 2008.
The tower’s occupancy has fallen markedly in recent years. Especially amid shifts in the state’s local real estate footprint, experts have raised questions about who may occupy large sections of the Renaissance Tower.
At the same time, business leaders’ vision for Sacramento’s downtown has changed: Many believe its future should more closely resemble its mixed-use neighbor, midtown, which enjoys a more even balance of residential and commercial properties. With a healthier mix of offices, retail and housing, economic development officials say, the city’s urban core would be less vulnerable to swings in the real estate market.
This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 12:32 PM.
