Business Journal: Capitol Park Hotel Affordable Housing; The Bread Store Closing; Covered California Enrollment Drops

Affordable Housing Project Planned At Capitol Park Hotel  

A historic hotel in downtown Sacramento could soon be turned into affordable housing. Capitol Park Hotel is at the corner of 9th and L streets. Right now, it operates as a single-room occupancy hotel for long-term residents. Two housing groups want to convert the property.

Scott Rodd from the Sacramento Business Journal says the renovations would be significant. 

"Many of Capitol Park’s rooms lack bathrooms and kitchens, and in some cases there’s no bathroom on the same floor,” says Rodd. “And so the total number of units, since they would have to add bathrooms and kitchens to some of them, would be reduced from 180 currently down to about 134." 

The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and Mercy Housing California want to apply for $9.6 million in state housing loans to acquire the building. The total cost of the project would be about $51.5 million, with much of the financing coming from low-income tax credits. The seven story hotel was built in 1959. 

The Bread Store Closing In February 

A bakery and restaurant that's been in midtown Sacramento for nearly 30 years is closing. The Bread Store at 17th and J streets has announced that it is shutting down on Feb. 7. There's already another business interested in filling the spot — a marijuana dispensary.

Rodd says that idea sparked opposition from several neighboring businesses. 

"A nearby property owner actually filed an appeal with the city, but that has since been withdrawn,” says Rodd. “A representative for the dispensary said there isn’t an estimated opening date but they're still going through the permitting and approval process currently which can take some time.” 

The dispensary is called Safe Accessible Solutions. It’s currently located off of Power Inn Road, but the business wants to move to the Bread Store location. Late last year, the Bread Store's owner said business was good but that the value of the property would go up if the city approved a conditional use permit for the dispensary. 

Covered California Sees Drop In New Enrollees  

Enrollment in Covered California, the state’s individual insurance market, dropped significantly from last year, according to data released this week. While the number of enrollees remain steady at just over 1.5 million, new enrollment is down — only 295,980 individuals signed up, compared to 388,344 last year. That represents about a 24 percent drop. The rest of the nation on average saw a 15.8 percent decline. 

“Peter Lee, the executive director of Covered California, points to the removal of the individual mandate under the 2017 federal tax overhaul,” says Rodd. 

The individual mandate previously penalized individuals who did not have health insurance. 

“Lee speculated that the drop in new enrollees will cause premium rates on the individual market to rise as a result,” says Rodd. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a reinstatement of the individual mandate at the state level.