Downtown Condo Tower A Failed Project

Who could have predicted that Bakersfield, another Valley town, would have no need for a massive downtown condo project? Look no further than Sacramento and the recent shutdown of the Saca Tower. See the recent story in the Sacramento Bee. Look at the picture in the Bee story, other than their project looking nicer, the outcome is exactly the same. Take a few minutes to read the readers comments at the bottom of the Bee story.

From today's Bakersfield Californian comes an update on the failed downtown condo project. Looks like another out of town investor, this one from San Diego, has become the greater fool in their search for "gold" in Bakersfield:

Artie Niesen, owner of Front Porch Music, is tired of it.

Jan Fulton, owner of Spotlight Cafe, is frustrated by it.

And downtown resident Dennis Harrison is just plain mad about it.

The "it" in question is a virtual junk yard adjacent to the old Padre Hotel downtown that includes discarded refrigerators, rusting hot water heaters, mounds of gravel, piles of scrap metal, broken beer bottles and used diapers, all visible behind a temporary chain-link fence at 19th and H streets.

It's disappointing enough that Pacifica Enterprises LLC, the owner of the partially refurbished Padre building, appears unable to commit to the project, say area business owners.