Downtown Sacramento has been targeted for urban renewal. The pedestrian K Street area is full of vacant buildings and storefronts. And while some of the money went to questionable projects (the much maligned Mermaid Bar), all of the money is now questionable, as is the fate of the development.

Love it or hate it, redevelopment’s impacts on communities are being mitigated by a state-grab of its $1.7 billion dollars. Should they survive on a court decision or choose to operate under the new system established on Tuesday, projects such as the K Street corridor are now in jeopardy.

From the Sacramento Bee:

From K Street to the downtown railyard, urban renewal projects in Sacramento and elsewhere have relied heavily on public redevelopment funds.

Until now, perhaps.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that blows a $1.7 billion hole in cities and counties’ redevelopment programs. It eliminates the state’s 400 redevelopment agencies, although it creates a mechanism allowing them to survive with less money.

Read the full article here.