Business Journal: Broadway, McGeorge School Of Law, Hewlett Packard

An effort to rejuvenate Sacramento’s Broadway district is gaining momentum. The Sacramento Business Journal's Digital Editor Sonya Sorich says new construction is planned for the corner of 16th and Broadway, one of the city's busiest intersections.

"A new retail building is moving forward on what's been a parking lot for Willie's Burgers," says Sorich. "This will be a single-story building, and we now know its three tenants: Sourdough & Co., Chipotle and Noah's Bagels featuring Peet's Coffee."

Construction is expected to be finished by August. The project joins several other changes in the Broadway area, including the decision by Hoppy Brewing Company to move its operations from Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento to a site just off Broadway.

Toys R Us Closing Stores

Toys R Us is joining the growing list of retail stores turning out the lights for the final time. The 70 year-old retailer has seven stores in the Sacramento area including a Babies R Us store in Folsom that was already scheduled to close.

"It'll be interesting to see how these vacancies are filled," says Sorich. "We know, especially for the larger retail spaces, it's been a little difficult as shopping habits shift online."    

About 30,000 people work at 740 Toys R Us stores throughout the United States. 

McGeorge Reducing Faculty

McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento is planning to cut its full-time faculty by 25 percent over the next several years. Sorich says the school's dean calls the plan a way to cut costs and attract better students.

"The decision means that McGeorge will be able to put more money into student recruitment," says Sorich. "It also means that the remaining professors at the school will be teaching full course loads, which is a shift from what's happening now. But overall, it's important to note that the goal is to attract higher-quality students, not more students. The school plans to stay small."

Nationally, applications to law schools have declined, and at the same time, law firms are getting more selective in their hiring decisions. Under the plan, 10 or 11 professors at McGeorge are expected to take buyouts, leaving about 28 full-time professors.

"Professors will have until the middle of next month to decide whether to take a buyout," says Sorich. "They'll have a few different options, with the earliest being the option of leaving at the end of the current school year. And officials emphasize all these buyouts will be voluntary, and they don't anticipate any involuntary terminations."

Makeover For Hewlett Packard In Roseville 

In Roseville, the old Hewlett Packard campus is getting a makeover. San Francisco-based Strada Investment Group bought the HP site in a deal nearly a year ago. Sorich says the re-branded campus is now called the Roseville Innovation Center, and Strada plans to spend about $10 million in upgrades.

"It's focusing on the single empty building at the campus, where it plans to create first-class creative office space," says Sorich. "With an open floor plan in the office, and planned outdoor amenities such as a bocce court and outdoor kitchen, the building could attract tech companies or similar firms that are used to those offerings in Bay Area offices."

Hewlett Packard is still on the campus. In fact, HP is planning nearly $2 million of upgrades to buildings it continues to occupy at the site.