Midstate Construction Wins Two Awards
General Contractor Midstate Construction Corporation, was on hand as two of our projects were awarded “Best Real Estate Project” awards by the Sacramento Business Journal: The St. Clare at Capitol Park (aka Capitol Park Hotel), and Mirasol Village.
The St. Clare at Capitol Park
Details: 134-unit supporting housing project for previously unhoused individuals.
Cost: $72.4 million
Completed: Summer 2023
Developer: Mercy Housing California
Contractor: Midstate Construction Corporation
Architect: Page & Turnbull
Mercy Housing California, an affordable housing developer and operator, has rejuvenated the historic Capitol Park Hotel, now called the St. Clare at Capitol Park (aka Capitol Park Hotel), into 134 units for previously unhoused residents. The former hotel offered many challenges due to its historic nature and the less restrictive building codes during the time period in which it was originally built.
Mercy had to ensure that its redeveloped structure adhered to the historic preservation standards enforced by state and national historic preservation entities, he said. Some of the hotel’s walls, hallway coving and interior stairs were preserved, while also being updated to meet today’s building codes.
An unusual challenge came in retrofitting the structure’s brick exterior to meet industry standards, according to Monica Nelson, vice president of marketing and business development for Midstate Construction Corporation, the project’s contractor. Builders were tasked with removing the original bricks, attaching helical anchors to the structure’s stainless steel reinforcing bars, and re-attaching the bricks. A portion of the property needed to be elevated to remove and replace the hundreds of older bricks to the structure’s exterior.
A surprising turn took place when it was time to update the building’s air conditioning system. The structure’s doors and ceilings had originally been built high to allow for natural ventilation in the rooms and hallways. But in the 1950s and ’60s, the building’s owners installed ducts, which lowered and obscured the ceilings’ luxurious heights, according to Rick Feldman, a consulting architect with Page & Turnbull.
Feldman and other designers at the architecture firm were able to install new vertical ducts and remove the horizontal ones, returning each unit and hallway to its rightful glamour.
“We were able to restore the look of the original naturally-ventilated building with the high ceilings and corridor, but still deliver air conditioning and good air quality to the units,” Feldman said. “Not so much adding anything new, but restoring something that had been lost.”
Still, the work that the St. Clare’s builders have done to overcome these challenges will be more than rewarded.
“To me, it’s really knowing that when this project is done, the people that will be living here, the population that will be served… they will be in this beautiful community that will be safe,” Ciraulo said. “It just feels completely transformed into a much friendlier and homier community.”
-Sonya Herrera, Contributor
Mirasol Village
Details: Mixed-income project of 427 units in the River District.
Cost: $250 million
Completed: Spring 2023
Developer: McCormack Baron Salazar and Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
Contractor: Midstate Construction Corporation
Architect: SVA Architects
Mirasol, a Spanish term referring to sunflowers, evokes the manner in which the generous flora turns its gaze toward the rising sun.
As the flower for which it’s named, Mirasol Village – a 427- unit site roughly 2 miles north of Downtown Sacramento built by developer McCormack Baron Salazar and the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency – also looks toward a brighter future.
The project was not without its challenges. Like many developments planned prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mirasol Village saw the costs of its materials escalate between 2012 – when SHRA first received funding for the project – and 2020, when construction began.
This was particularly challenging for MBS and SHRA to grapple with, since the agency had to hustle to secure more funding from local, state and federal governments, Salazar said.
But the challenges were well worth it. MBS and SHRA have nearly completed Mirasol’s first two phases, or two out of a total of four buildings, and have begun moving in tenants. The complex also features a 1.6-acre park, a community garden, a dog park and bike lockers.
Also challenging was how each change in materials, necessitated by rising costs, required re-approval by the city of Sacramento. The team at Midstate Construction Corporation, the project’s contractor, foresaw this potential obstacle and dealt with issues before they arose.
For example, to ensure that Midstate used compatible dirt in building Mirasol, the company sampled soil at the site early on and immediately submitted a compatible soil for the city’s approval, according to Monica Nelson, vice president of marketing and business development at Midstate.
In addition, the city streamlined the process of approvals and reapprovals as much as possible, allowing for faster construction, Nelson said. This may be partly due to the fact that Sacramento was proactive about enabling new housing.
“Sacramento just seems… I’m not going to say more aggressive, but they’re so open to (new housing) that they make all the steps easier for the developer,· Nelson said.
“We have done a number of projects in Sacramento, and they seem like they do get approved. and they are able to be built more timely than some other cities that we’ve worked in.”
– Sonya Herrera, Contributor
