Developer David Taylor is asking the city for $5.4 million in subsidies to renovate a stretch of old retail space on the K Street Mall.
But Rob Kerth with the Midtown Business Association says that would be unfair to midtown bars and clubs struggling in the current economic downtown.
“These are not normal times. You know, to be opening up a strong competitor that doesn’t have the same cost basis – tough to compete against that.”
But Michael Ault with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership says it shouldn’t be a Midtown versus Downtown issue.
He says the subsidies are needed to upgrade a blighted stretch of K Street…and improving downtown would benefit midtown too.
City Councialman Ray Tretheway has set up a meeting for Thursday afternoon between the Midtown Business Association, the Downtown Partnership and the developer to try and come up with a compromise.
The City Council is set to vote on the project on March 10th.