Weekend Fire Raises Concerns About Future Of Ice Block Project In Midtown Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Two Midtown Sacramento buildings meant to be the heart of a big project in the city burned over the weekend, raising concerns about its future.

Sacramento Fire says investigators weren't on scene on Monday and they may not make it out until Tuesday. The department says it needs to coordinate with the city's department of dangerous buildings before going in.

The Ice Blocks Project hasn't been declared a total loss, but things aren't looking great on R Street. The site supervisors says Saturday morning's fire damaged a total of four buildings.

The renovation project was set to turn vacant buildings into office space next year.

"Our charge was to get it pre-leased as soon as possible, and we had commitments on 80 percent of the space," said Turton Commercial Real Estate President Ken Turton.

The main building in the front was the former Crystal Ice headquarters, first built in 1923. It was going to be the new headquarters for the Sacramento Republic. A Republic spokesperson says the news of the fire was shocking and the team's administration will meet on Tuesday to discuss the future headquarters.

"If it is a complete tear down, which is possible, it creates the potential for doing something even bigger and better that's just different," Turton said.

Ice House Project developer Mike Heller, who renovated several downtown properties including The Lofts and the Elliot Building on 16th Street, declined to comment on the project or the fire.

The city says two of the four buildings will have to be demolished immediately while the other two may be salvageable.